Three Dirty Secrets (Blindfold Club #4) (25 page)

I smiled woefully. “You were, what, five?”

“No, I didn’t see it until it had been out for a while. Caroline had it on VHS.”

Oh, shit. Caroline. I’d have to fix that situation as soon as possible, but then his hands were on my breasts, and I decided to come up with a plan tomorrow.

Tomorrow I’d have a clear head.

Chapter

EIGHTEEN

Getting an appointment to see Caroline Getty hadn’t been an easy task, as her schedule was hectic. I’d told the Marshal I’d spoken with that I only needed ten minutes of the Chief Deputy’s time, but I had to drop my name to get penciled in.

Her office was at the back of the room, and I felt every pair of Marshal eyes on me as I was escorted to it. It was like the cowboys could sense a Fed on their turf, and it made them uneasy. Tension had grown between the departments after an incident two years ago. I’d transferred to the Chicago office a month before a federal judge had been assassinated, and the Marshals made a fucking mess of the case that should have been ours.

Caroline looked similar to her younger brother. She had the same silver eyes, soft brown hair color, and long, straight nose. Her dark gray business suit was paired with a bright blue dress shirt, and her long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Everything about her from her stiff posture to the gold star on her hip screamed business.

When I wasn’t undercover, I assumed the same would be said of me. I might own that exact same suit.

She stood behind her desk speaking on her cell phone and motioned for me to take a seat. My escort, a guy with sideburns which were too long, took one of the unoccupied chairs. He assumed this was a work-related conversation.

I kept my voice low not to disturb Caroline’s conversation. “I need to talk with the Chief Deputy about something alone.”

“She’s going to bring me up to speed as soon as you leave, so let’s save time.”

“It’s personal.”

The Marshal’s expression flooded with surprise. “Um, okay. I guess I’ll leave you two girls to chat.” His gaze flicked up to hers and he sobered when he realized Caroline was no longer on her call. Her dark expression sent him running from her office, and the door swung closed behind him.

For a quiet moment Caroline and I exchanged a knowing look, wordlessly acknowledging the sexism which was still rampant in our professions. She had it much worse than I did, and I was struck by how far she’d climbed in spite of it.

She thrust her hand out. “Chief Deputy Getty.”

Her handshake was like mine. Firm and dominating.

“Special Agent Adams.”

“Thanks for your help on the Serbian case. Is that what we’re talking about?”

So, she did know who I was. When she took her seat, I followed suit. “No, ma’am.” God, the words were stuck in my throat. “Uh, it’s about Silas.”

My statement grabbed her full attention and her shoulders straightened. “Why the hell is the FBI interested in my brother?”

Oh, Christ. “They’re not.” A lie. I’d used Silas’s gallery showing to get close to Roland. “I mean, I can’t discuss ongoing investigations, but his involvement was minimal, and it’s over now.”

Her pretty face soured. “Awesome. So this is a heads-up after the fact? Typical of the Bureau.” Her sharp gaze made me feel an inch tall. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Next time, ask my fucking permission before pulling one of my family members into an undercover op.”

I gnashed my teeth. “It was nothing. He was completely safe, and he doesn’t know I’m undercover.”

She paused. Her thoughts were clear through her eyes. Her cop eyes, as Silas would say.

“He
doesn’t
know?” she repeated. “You’re still in contact with him?”

Oh, yes. There’d been plenty of contact last night in his bed. “Yeah.” My voice faltered. This conversation was about to get awkward. “I’m seeing him.”

She went entirely still. Didn’t even blink. “Meaning, what? You’re sleeping with him?”

My non-answer was answer enough. I held my head up, readying for her to send a volley of nasty things my way. I didn’t want to introduce myself like this, but it couldn’t be helped.

Her shoulders tensed and her voice rose. “You’re fucking my brother as part of an undercover case?”

“No. I told you, his part in my op is done. I’m fucking your brother because I want to.”
Way to win her over.
I sighed, set my hands on the armrests, and pushed myself to my feet. “I like him. I wish we hadn’t met while I was UC, but Silas is connected with people who only know me as my cover. I can’t tell him I’m FBI until my work’s done.”

Caroline’s expression was thinly veiled anger. “Okay. Why are you telling me this?”

“I wasn’t sure if you knew who I was. My cover took months to build, and I can’t risk it getting blown if you decided to stop by his gallery.”

“You want me to lie to him?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “When you made Chief Deputy, I was thrilled. I’m sure this boys’ club gets on your nerves sometimes like it does mine. I didn’t ask for this assignment, but I was willing to do it because of the cases I could help close. Like the Serbian one. You do what you need to. All I’m asking for is the chance to do the same.”

Hopefully my appeal to her as an ambitious woman in law enforcement would make the connection I needed.

Her gaze lingered on me, then shifted to look out the one tiny window in the office. “I’m not about to get in the way of the FBI. You threw us a bone when we needed it, so your cover’s safe as far as I’m concerned.” She turned back to focus on me. Caroline was a beautiful woman, but her expression now was intense. The chip on her shoulder had to be bigger than mine, which meant it was as big as a glacier. “Silas is a big guy, but he’s still my little brother. Keep that in mind.”

Her subtle threat was actually a little sweet. “Understood. Thanks for your time.”

I was halfway out the door when she spoke again. “Adams.” She still wore the intense expression, but it had an edge of authority now. “As soon as your work’s done, you tell him. Or I will.”

My next stop was to Shane’s desk, and I loomed at the edge of his cubicle. “Come on,” I said. “Let me buy you lunch.”

He paused his typing on the computer and glanced at me. “You’re buying lunch? That can’t be good.”

“I haven’t kept you in the loop about something,” I admitted. “Let’s get out of here and I’ll correct that.”

I spilled the story over a plate of shrimp tacos, filling Shane in on my night with Silas following the showing, and hurried through the part where he had arrived at the blindfold club looking for me. I glossed over details, but Shane got the gist. He did his part, listening without questions or judgment.

“He RSVPed Payton McCreary’s wedding as my plus-one. I went to his gallery to confront him, and I, well, I ended up spending the night.”

Shane wiped his mouth with his napkin and gave me a direct stare. I wished he’d say something. His silence was unnerving.

“We’re together, like a couple. I even asked him for that. Christ, Shane, will you say something?”

“What do you want me to say? This is a gray area. You can have your own life, as far as the Bureau is concerned, but getting involved while undercover isn’t a great idea.”

“I know that,” I snapped. My frustration leaked out and I scowled at myself. Shane was only stating the obvious, there wasn’t a reason to be pissed at anyone but myself. Maybe I could be pissed at Silas, too. He’d been impossible to resist.

“You going to tell him?”

I flattened my lips into a line and shook my head. The last time I’d revealed I was undercover was still too fresh and raw. “We’ll get Roland, and I’ll be out. Then I’ll tell him.”

“Wait a minute.” Shane jolted with alarm. “Didn’t you say his sister was a Marshal?”

I waved a hand. “I already took care of it. We spoke this morning.”

“How’d that go?”

Honestly, better than I’d expected. Caroline Getty was driven and focused. She wasn’t happy I was lying to her brother, but she saw the ends that justified the means. At least, I believed she did.

“It went fine.” Could he sense how much I wasn’t saying?

I refused to second-guess myself. I liked Silas, like,
a lot
. We’d stayed up until two in the morning talking about everything from movies to music. He had an eclectic taste, just as I did, but he used the different genres of music to infuse mood into his art. His charcoal piece had been an angry, aggressive one, which explained the rap.

I’d woken at seven this morning, dressed quickly, and kissed him goodbye before high-tailing it to my apartment. It’d been a mad dash to get ready for the day after that, and I’d tried my best not to think about him.

Because he made me giddy.

It was something no other man had done. After Reno, I felt like I was all darkness. Silas was light, my opposite, and it rubbed off on me in the best possible way. I liked Regan, the woman I was around him. But lying brought reality crashing back to me. All I’d wanted was to be an FBI agent. Not sharing such a huge part of my life with him was eating me up.

At least coming clean with Shane helped a little.

“I have a feeling,” Shane said, “that something’s going to happen soon. We’re gonna catch a break.”

God, I hoped so.

I went home Saturday night cursing both Kirk Roland and Victor Bennett. Another weekend down, and Roland hadn’t shown his face. He hadn’t reached out to Julius, either. I went home to my apartment pissed off at the situation.

There was a small UPS package sitting on my green rug, and the box looked like it’d been too big to fit in my mailbox. I scooped it up and carried it inside, curious. I didn’t remember ordering anything recently, and didn’t recognize the sender. Once I was in my apartment, I cut it open, and a laugh bubbled from my throat. Without reading the packing slip, I knew instantly who’d sent me the pair of patterned underwear. They were black with orange pumpkins on them.

I dug my phone out and sent a text message to Silas, not sure if he was still awake.

I smiled. Silas’s simple gesture had brightened my shitty day and I was grateful.