“That’s exactly what I meant when I said you didn’t have the connections to back up your force. You should know he’s been dabbling here whenever he saw the opportunity.”
He tapped on his desk, clearly irritated with being caught unaware. “Fine, what of it?”
“There are some things I didn’t tell you about the night of the explosion, and I still haven’t told you who I suspect did the killing, and whether or not my father made the call,”
Mason told him a bit about Daniel and his relationship with Delano Agrest. The association had put a target on Daniel’s back and marked him as a potential ally to Mason. Mason explained why he felt comfortable confronting his old friend and how that factored into his suspicions. By the end of the conversation, they didn’t agree much, but some of the tension had eased.
I didn't say anything, listening carefully to everything they discussed and doing my best to absorb and remember the details. I was good with information, and I would prove to Mason that he should have trusted me to begin with, that I could andwouldhave helped him.
There was no grand conclusion by the time we left hours later. Instead, my stomach grumbled hungrily, and my attitude was worsening in direct correlation with my appetite.
“Did the two of youneedto spend that last hour arguing?” I asked Mason as he slid into the SUV behind me.
He sighed, “No, I guess I didn’t. I’m fucking beat.”
James got in behind Mason, and we drove off, riding in complete silence for a few minutes.
“What weren’t you telling him about the night of the explosion?” I asked after I’d spent a few quiet minutes regarding the naked trees and thinking over every detail of the meeting.
“What do you mean?” he cleared his throat.
“I know when you’re lying, Mason. Holding things back….”
“Is my poker face that bad?” his teasing tone did little to hide his genuine concern.
“I’m not sure what the fuck she’s talking about, boss. I didn’t notice anything.” But, of course, James would be the first to give him shit if it were true. So he doubted me.
I rolled my eyes so hard they almost stuck, “I’m not sure if all men are idiots or just the two of you. You’re my fiancé, Mason. Against all reason, I’m stupidly in love with you. I know your tells, and youdohave them.”
He smiled at me indulgently, like he believed I was full of shit. “Okay, so what are my tells then?”
“Well, when you're about to cum, you bite the inside of your cheek and—” I rolled my eyes in a horrible exaggeration that one might use to feign electrocution.
His big hand wound through my hair, and he crushed his lips to mine, effectively and physically forcing me to shut up and meet him across the distance between our seats. His tongue fought its way into my mouth, taking me in a claiming kiss that both punished my sass and encouraged it. He kissed me long and hard enough to get my blood pumping before he gave me a chance to catch my breath but didn't release my hair.
“What are my tells, baby?”
James cleared his throat, but I ignored him, “You think I’m going to help you lie better when you’re doing a fine enough job to fool James? Absolutely not. Now out with it, Mason. What were you keeping from him?”
He laughed, kissing me once more before releasing his grip on me. “Two things. One, you already know; I've been working on converting certain police officers to my side. Hector is unaware I'm potentially forming a more powerful alliance than the one I have with him,” he gave me a scathing look, not appreciating that part of my speech. “The second thing I would have told him if he wasn’t being such a prick. But before Casey died, he was working on building this program to run the bank accounts of everyone and anyone, pinging us when they interacted with one another or when it found questionable transactions. Busting through the bank's security was the tricky bit. I thought he failed or didn’t have time to succeed.”
“And?” James asked, looking interested but slightly put out by his lack of observational skills.
I held in my laugh. The big secret wasn't anything all that special. When Mason lied, this one thick vein on the side of his neck stuck out. I often wanted to trail my tongue over it while he fed me bullshit.
“And I was wrong. Mila told me this morning that it had been up and running since a few days before his death. He told her he wanted to make sure it was perfect before showing me. Or if he had something concrete that I could use. She texted me while we were in the meeting to inform me of a major transaction between Delano Agrest and my father.”
“What couldthatpossibly mean?” James asked.
“Other than a man who runs in these circles, whoisDelano Agrest?”
“He is the head of a criminal organization in a neighboring city,andthe reason my father went to jail.”
“So what does that mean?” I echoed James’ question with a much deeper level of concern.
“That something is seriously not right.”
Chapter 10