Caroline’s gaze dropped down to her phone screen, and she latched a hand on Silas’s arm. “Bennett’s in custody. He tried to catch a flight out of Midway.” She scrolled through the message, then turned her stunned look to me. “He’s got a broken jaw. Was that you?”
“I wish it had been, you look so impressed. It was my manager.”
“Oh. I heard he lawyered up already. Your people have to be pissed—”
The slip was bad, but her rigid body language was what really drew Silas’s attention. “Her people?”
“I meant . . .” She visibly struggled with a way to backtrack, but it was pointless.
“It’s okay, Caroline,” I said. “I’ll explain. Can you shut the door when you leave?”
Her eyes were full of apology. She nodded, turned to her brother, and gave him a serious look. “I like this one. She’s better-looking than the last girl and hasn’t stolen any of your shit yet.”
“What?” He couldn’t look more confused if he tried.
Caroline’s only response was to walk out the door and slide it shut as I’d asked her to.
He turned his gaze to me and suspicion crept in. “You have something to explain?”
I drew in a deep breath, filling my body with air. “Yeah.” My vocal cords ached. “I’ve been keeping secrets.”
He took a hesitant step toward my bed.
“Some of them you already know. Like what really goes on at the club. Or how I’m . . .” I shouldn’t waste words because they were fire coming out of me. “Being a dominant turns me on.”
It was freeing to confess it out loud. Hopefully my next dirty secret would be the same. It drew him closer, and I could sense the desire in him to support me. He liked my dominant streak.
“What you don’t know,” I continued, “is that I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Chapter
TWENTY-SIX
Silas’s reaction was stoic. He blinked once, and then his gaze hardened. “You’re FBI.”
“Yes.” I waited with bated breath. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the quiet aftermath suddenly felt worse than when the bullet had torn through my shoulder.
“Caroline knew.”
I swallowed thickly. “I met with her last month and asked her not to blow my cover in case you wanted to introduce us.”
“What you mean is you asked her to lie to me. What the fuck, Regan?” He took a step back, and the tiny distance was suddenly massive. “You should have told me.”
“I couldn’t. I didn’t know how close you were with Joseph.”
His face went blank. “Joseph. Oh, shit.”
“He’s been legit for the last six months. Don’t worry about him.”
My statement hung in the quiet, which I was sure we both hated now. Silas’s beautiful hands went to his hips, resting there. But then he abruptly went into motion, pacing the narrow space of the room as he tried to process.
“I’m sorry,” I rasped. “I wanted to tell you, but I’d been undercover for more than a year when we met. There are a dozen other agents counting on me.”
“Yeah,” he snapped. “I’m sorry, too. Sorry you felt you couldn’t trust me.”
Christ, his truth stung. It slashed at my heart. “I do trust you.”
He stopped pacing mid-stride, his back turned to me. “Not as much as your ex, though, apparently.”