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.