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Authors: Charity Parkerson

Tags: #Romantic Suspense

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BOOK: Secured Undercover
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She unlocked the door to her boutique. Bradley, carrying her bags, followed closely on her heels as she made her way to her apartment above. The light on her answering machine was blinking and she hit play, freezing at the sound of Shannon’s voice. “Hey, Flower. This is Shannon. I’m going to be in Abernathy for the next two weeks covering the security on some sort of homeless drive The Queen of Diamonds is having. I’m guessing they liked our work on the gala and they’ve decided to hire us for this job as well. Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go do something while I’m in town. Give me a call. You should have my cell number, but in case you’ve lost it,” Flower listened to the rest of the message with only half an ear. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bradley watching her, but she didn’t dare turn and look at him since the subject of Shannon was an uncomfortable one now. The next message was from her assistant Betsy. “Hey Flower. It’s Betsy. I don’t know if you’ve heard yet or not, but Chad has been arrested on some really nasty charges. I heard a rumor that The Queen of Diamonds was using their drive for the homeless as a ploy to draw in underage homeless boys in some sort of sex ring. Can you believe it?” Flower skipped the rest of the message moving onto the next with a growing sense of horror. “Hey Flower, did you hear about Chad?” Skip. “Hey Flower. It’s Chad. Don’t believe a word you hear about me.” Skip. “Hey. It’s Shannon again. So apparently, The Queen of Diamonds is being shut down and I’m temporarily between jobs. There was something about its owner and some sex charges. Anyways, I’m sure you know all about it. I’m still going to stay in town for the next two weeks and bid on some jobs around here, so I’m still game to get together, if you are.”

The machine clicked off, and she turned to Bradley in confusion. “Bradley, did you know that Chad owned The Queen of Diamonds?”

“It’s Brad.”

“What?”

“My name, I don’t really like Bradley. I go by Brad.”

“Okay,” she drawled out, unsure of why he sounded so angry with her.

“Fuck!” He said loudly running both hands through his hair, leaving it standing on end. He paced the room for a second, coming to a stop directly in front her. Digging into his pocket, Bradley pulled out a small square of paper and a SIM card before throwing it down on the counter and storming out, making sure to slam the door closed behind him. Flower stared down at the paper unsure of what just happened. She reached for it, noticing absently that her hands were shaking as she unfolded it.

I’ve never seen a more beautiful flower than you. There was an

Emergency with one of my workers, but I’ll be back as soon as I

get things straightened out. If you need me before then you can reach me on my cell 555-4698, Shannon

Flower’s eyes fell closed as she realized what she was reading. He left her a note, and she didn’t get it
. He left her a note,
and Bradley took it, and he took her SIM card disabling her phone. Cramming it down into her pocket, she stalked out the door in pursuit of Bradley, but his car was already gone. She wanted to call Shannon right then and set things straight, because she hated that she was the one that snuck away, but she wanted to find Bradley first. He was the more important of the two.

It took only twenty minutes to drive from Flatline to Abernathy, and when she arrived at Bradley’s she didn’t give him the chance to hide from her. Instead, she used the key he gave her when he had first moved there.

He showed not a flicker of surprise as she came barreling in. Instead, he lifted a bottle of Vodka to his lips.

“What the fuck is going on with you,
Brad
?” she asked without preamble. “None of this is like you. You steal my note, and my SIM card, making me think he snuck away. As soon as we get home, you get all pissed off at me for calling you the name you’ve gone by
your entire life
. I know you, and this is not you.”

He slammed the bottle down with enough force that she jumped expecting it to shatter, but it didn’t.

“Take a look around, Flower. You don’t know a goddamn thing about me.”

When she only stared at him, shocked by the level of his fury, he yelled. “Look!” and obediently she did. She glanced around the room, unsure of what she was supposed to be seeing, but then it hit her. In her confusion, she began to move from room to room inspecting each one, even going as far as opening each one of the closets. He stood silently waiting on her to finish. There was nothing of the Bradley she knew. There were no dresses, wigs, or makeup. It was a man’s home. One room was filled with exercise equipment, there were dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, and the toilet seat was up. There was an empty pizza box on the countertop that must have been there since before they left for Tennessee, and the only thing in his fridge was a six-pack of beer. She always knew Bradley wasn’t gay, and up until she learned about his stint at The Queen of Diamonds she never believed him to be effeminate—even in a dress he wasn’t, but there should have been
something
of that lifestyle filling his home. There was nothing.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled.

He closed his eyes, running both hands through his hair before reaching into his back pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he handed it to her. She eyed him in confusion before flipping it open. She looked down at what she held in her hand, finally saying numbly, “You work for the F.B.I.?”

“The Queen of Diamonds is under investigation for drug trafficking and solicitation. I’ve been working undercover for months now trying to gather enough evidence to bring charges against the club’s owner; Chad Williams.”

The depth of his betrayal began to sink in as she realized that not only had he stolen her stuff, he had been lying about his job
for years
. It got even worse when she thought about the fact that his job at The Queen of Diamonds, his hiring her for the gala, and his interest in her clothing-line all started around the same time Chad drove his Porsche back into town and picked up his pursuit her as if he never left. Did she mean anything at all to him, or was it all a lie?

She set his wallet down gently on the countertop before shoving both hands in her pockets. She stared down at the toes of her shoes and the pain he saw in her eyes before she looked down made his chest ache. He never set out to lie to her or involve her in any way. It was just one of those things that started out small and seemed harmless at first, but it grew into something huge and out of control. When she remained silent and refused to meet his eyes, he begged. “Please say something?”

She finally looked up, meeting his eyes; hers were filled with tears. “Why? Why make me believe that you changed your whole lifestyle? Why ask me to make your dresses, and just everything, why?”

“Because I’m stupid, because I can’t stay away, because I don’t know. Take your pick,” he moved in closer, running his fingers along her cheek before burying his hand in her hair. “Because I’m so in love with you that it makes me blind to consequences. It makes me not care what happens to anyone else in the world so long as you are happy, and you have all that you need; so long as you are with
me
.”

A tear fell from the corner of her eye. He couldn’t stand it any longer. Lowering his head, he set his mouth over hers. She reached up, gripping his shirt with both hands, and his heart soared with triumph. He nipped lightly at her bottom lip and she allowed him in. He swore that the world tipped on its edge with the power of his love, and he forced himself to back off an inch to keep from attacking her. When he pulled away, his ragged breathing sounded loud in the otherwise silent room. Flower stared at some point below his chin.

Flower took a step back. When she dropped her gaze back to the floor, his heart missed a beat. Even if she didn’t know him any longer, he knew her, and he knew that look. With shaking hands, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and unwound his from the chain before setting it next to his wallet. Her fingers lingered above it for a moment, as if she were saying a silent goodbye.

“I would have done anything for you,” her voice came out small, like a child’s. “I feel like I have accepted you in every way. I would have happily spent the rest of my life with you even though you were living as a woman,” she paused, closing her eyes for a second; another tear fell from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. “I love you that much. Years, Bradley,” she threw her hand up as if erasing her last statement. “I mean
Brad
. There were years you could have told me the truth. Did you think I couldn’t keep it to myself? No, don’t answer that because it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m done. I’m done with not having a single solitary person who wants to put me up on that kind of pedestal. I love you so much that I was thinking I wouldn’t mind a life too much where I designed the dresses and you wore them. What kind of crazy person does that make me? Don’t answer that one either. But you know what?”

He shook his head, unsure of whether or not he was supposed to answer that one either. “I might be crazy, but I’m not a liar, and I wouldn’t have done that to you for anything in the world, even my business.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Something very odd was going on. The same police officer in charge of releasing Bob in Nashville was now holding them for questioning in Abernathy, Texas. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she wasn’t some police flunky that pushed paperwork around for a living, but no matter how he looked at things, they didn’t make sense.

“How much longer are we going to be here?” Shannon asked, shifting around uncomfortably in his seat. Genie Cook looked up from the file she was reading and assessed him with her light-blue eyes while pushing a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear. She clicked the end of her ink pen drawing out the silence in an obvious attempt to get underneath his skin. When he only continued watching her, refusing to be baited, she sighed. “We’re waiting on the rest of my team to arrive.”

“And how much longer will that be?”

“We’re here,” said a male voice behind him, and Shannon turned in his chair to see Bradley coming through the door followed by another man that looked vaguely familiar but he couldn’t place where he’d seen him before.

“Mr. Smith,” said Bradley. “How good to see you again,” he sounded like he meant the exact opposite, but Shannon still smiled brightly. “Bradley.”

He turned to the other man in the room, no longer able to withstand the curiosity. “Have we met before?”

He held out his hand for Shannon to shake. “Agent Steven Alfred F.B.I., uh, Candy.”

It was as if a light switch were thrown on. “Oh, I see it now. Nice watch by the way, is that a Rolex?” Steven pulled his sleeve down uncomfortably, covering the watch.

Wanting to bring all attention back to him, Bradley cleared his throat. “How well do you know Chad Williams?”

Shannon felt his confusion grow. “Who?”

Instead of answering his question Bradley asked, “Who hired you to work security for The Queen of Diamonds’ events?”

Shannon’s confusion cleared. “Their events coordinator, Levi Whitcomb.”

Bradley and Steven both nodded as if he confirmed something in their minds. “Is Flower in on this too?”

Bradley kept his eyes glued to his paperwork as he answered. “Flower Calloway has no bearing on this situation beyond having the bad luck to be hired by The Queen of Diamonds, a common trait you share, I believe,” he snapped his file closed, scraping the legs of his chair across the floor as he stood. “You’re free to go Mr. Smith. Thank you for your cooperation.”

He jumped to his feet, following closely on Bradley’s heels. “I think you owe me an explanation, especially since my company has lost a lot of money on this.”

Bradley paused and waited for Shannon to fall into step beside him. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors by now, and as far as we can tell they are all true. We just need to be able to prove it in court. As I said earlier, you suffered the bad luck of being hired by them for a job, but we have to check out everyone involved.”

“Even Flower?” Shannon probed, trying to goad Bradley into showing some side of him other than the asshole one. Flower’s name brought Bradley to a halt once more, and he ran his hands through his hair. “I hired Flower so there was never a question of her being involved.”

Shannon stared at him in horrified fascination, much as you would a train wreck. “Um, Did she realize it was an act all along?”

When Bradley remained silent, Shannon was pretty sure he just witnessed someone being killed in that train wreck.

“I just enjoyed a very strange run in down at the police station with three of the F.B.I’s finest.” Shannon said as he walked through the door of Flower’s boutique. He looked around. “This is a nice place.”

“How nice to see you too Shannon. How have you been?” she asked, hiding a smile. He was a strange one. Always popping up, as if he knew her his entire life.

“I’m doing great with the exception of losing a shitload of money on this trip on expenses. Your assistant, Bertha or Betty; something along those lines, was nice enough to give me directions and let me know you were in today.”


Betsy
will be thrilled you found the place.”

He leaned across the counter, crossing his arms, watching her open her mail. “So
several
years, huh?”

She slammed down her letter opener. Blushing hotly, she waved both hands in front of her face. “Oh lord,” she groaned. “I’ll never live that one down.”

He laughed loudly at her discomfort but then sobered. “How mad are you at Bradley?”

“He lied
,
for
years.
I thought he was an accountant during the day, an
Accountant
for God’s sake.”

“Just for the record, I can’t believe I’m saying this since I’m talking at cross-purposes here, but it seems to me like this guy hung around a long time not lying to you, and you didn’t notice him then. But just as soon as you do take a notice in the man and he does something wrong, you dropped him like a hot potato, and he was only doing his job. I mean, can you imagine having to make your entire hometown believe you’ve decided to live your life as a drag queen?” he snorted. “That had to suck,” he drew out the last word emphasizing his feelings on the matter.

BOOK: Secured Undercover
5.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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