Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(60)

She rolled her eyes. “God, you’re na?ve. I don’t know how Miles could stand being around you. You’re like this hear no evil, see no evil chick, charging into things with her eyes closed, believing everyone has altruistic motives.”

Miles pushed my gun away and pointed his finger at Sasha. “Shut up. This isn’t a game.”

“No, you shut up, Miles.” I stared over their heads, unable to look at either one of them. “I want to hear what she has to say.”

“Gladly.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder. “Didn’t you wonder why Miles asked you to be his assistant, a woman with no college education whose only job experience was slinging drinks in a nightclub?”

My gaze cut to Miles, ice worming its way through my veins. “You came into Leslie’s bar for weeks. We became friends.”

She snorted. “Yeah, sweetie, life doesn’t work that way. He went to that bar looking for you. He recruited you.”

Miles rested his chin against his chest. “Go away, Sasha. I need to talk to Trinity alone.”

She speared me with her eyes, her lips curling in disgust. “Fine, but if he doesn’t tell you the truth, I will. Keep that in mind.”

I didn’t respond.

Sasha disappeared down the hall, and the door to Miles’s study clicked shut.

“Go ahead,” I said, my voice thin and frail, my gun burning a hole in my hand.

He shifted on his feet. “Through one of my contacts, I learned the Benton family was hiding the details of Richard Benton’s illegitimate child.”

I met his gaze, chin lifted. “In the course of your blackmail scheme.”

His lips pressed together. “I’m not going to comment on that.”

“Fine.” I waved my hand, struggling to keep my voice as calm as possible. “Continue.”

“I found out your name and that Derrick Benton helped you relocate to D.C. at Richard Benton’s request.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t explain why you sought me out.”

He nodded slowly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “All of Richard Benton’s money was put into a trust. His trust provided his wife with a generous monthly payment, along with the use of all his properties until her death. The remaining assets, however, were to be split equally between his children.”

I sucked in a giant mouthful of air. “He only has one child. He never claimed me. His name isn’t on my birth certificate.”

“Well, none of that matters, because you’re mentioned by name in his trust.” When I didn’t respond, he continued talking. “There’s one caveat, however. You have to come forward and claim the money before your twenty-fifth birthday, otherwise your share reverts to Derrick, which is in—”

“Two months,” I said, interrupting him.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Two months.”

My eyes pinched closed for a split second. “So you planned to help me claim my share?”

He cringed. “Kind of.”

Hate and bitterness churned in my gut like a gasoline fed bonfire. “That’s why you wanted to get married. You were with me for the money. Money I didn’t even know I had.” My chin quivered, and I could feel the tears sneaking out of the corners of my eyes.

He held out his hand, but I slapped it away. “At first, but things changed. I cared about you. I still do.”

“You’re pathetic. Get away.” The words scraped like glass across my lips. My vision blurred with a toxic combination of confusion and betrayal. I stood there, my feet rooted to the ground, trying to wrap my head around what he said. I didn’t know how to absorb his confession. Grief crawled up the walls of my throat, warring for freedom.

Freedom to scream.

Freedom to rage.

Freedom to hurt someone else.

All of those emotions huddled inside of me like a ticking bomb. Slowly building. Enclosing my throat. Blinding me. I felt like I was breaking into a thousand jagged pieces.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The doorknob rattled behind me.

“Open the door, Miles. I know Trinity’s here.”

My head shot up. “It’s Knox,” I whispered, whirling around to face the door. My mind unraveled, confusing emotions swirling like a tornado inside of me, and suddenly I knew he was the only thing in my life that made sense. I loved him. I needed him.





CHAPTER





THIRTY-FOUR


Knox



Trinity opened the door. Tears spilled down her cheeks. A small handgun dangled from her fingers. Her shoulders sagged. She looked defeated.

“Knox.” She dragged out my name, her voice low and reverent.

“Trinity.” I scanned her for injuries, but other than her tears and puffy eyes, I didn’t see anything. “What’s going on? Why did you come here? You can’t trust Miles.”

Her gaze flicked to his, and she swallowed. “He used me. Derrick used me. It was all about the money.”

“What money?”

With unsteady fingers, she stuffed the gun into her purse. “My half of the Benton Family Trust. Miles wanted to marry me for it. Derrick wanted to keep all of it.”

I charged forward. Before I could stop myself, my hands circled Miles’s neck and I shoved him into the wall. “What the hell is she talking about?”