A part of me knew I shouldn’t trust her. She had set me up. What if her story was still full of lies? What if she was still loyal to Briggs Thomas?

There were several ways to find out. I planned to implement one.

We drove to the office, and she didn’t try once to jump out of the car. She stared out the window, her new skirt tucked around her legs, her hands resting on her thighs. Her bruises were still stark against her skin, that one on her cheek dark and painful to look at. It didn’t take anything away from her beauty, but seemed to enhance it in a graceful sort of way. It showed the strength that lived underneath her soft exterior, and there was nothing more graceful than that.

There were construction trucks parked two deep in front of the warehouse, men coming in and going out of the building as they worked. I took her hand and positioned her in front of me, carefully leading her through the chaos to the original office located at the back of the building. We were able to close the door there and block out some of the sounds, but the construction had expanded impressively, and they were working close to the glass walls, making it impossible to block out the sound completely. They kept assuring me they would have an office finished here at the back of the building before they began the reconstruction of this room, but I was beginning to doubt their word.

For the moment, however, we had the room to ourselves.

Rachel looked around the room, her eyes falling on the cot that still sat pushed into the corner of the room.

“A lot of late nights around here?”

“We all lived here when we first came to town. It was easier, having everyone in one place like that, with the Guardian threat hanging over our heads. But, as you can see, it’s not really possible to sleep with all the construction going on, so they moved us to the hotel.”

“You slept in here?” she asked, walking over to the cot. She touched the pillow, sliding her hand over the silky pillowcase.

“No. This was Jack’s.”

“Jack Stone, the owner of the company, right?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, turning back toward me. “They told me about him. They wanted me to gather any information I could get about him, too.”

“What did they tell you?”

She rolled her shoulders. “That he thinks he’s a god, and that he stole away and compromised one of their young, pious women.”

“He fell in love and married a young woman who happens to be a member of the church.”

“It’s all about perspective, I suppose.”

I nodded, forced to agree with her on that one.

“Why do you want me here, Patrick? What are we supposed to be doing?”

“Setting a trap for your friends.”

“Yeah? What kind?”

I gestured for her to take a seat on the edge of the cot. “They want to know about Jack, me, and Stone Security? We’re going to give them some information.” I pulled a legal pad out of the desk. “But first, I want you to write down everything you know about Briggs Thomas.”

“Everything? That’s a lot.”

“I’m sure it is. Make sure you add as many details as possible.”

“Like his technique in bed? How long his—”

“No. Like names of people you knew in common, where he lived and for how long, any sort of criminal record, anything you think might be useful to us.”

She nodded, growing sober as she listened. “That’s quite a list, too.”

“Do the best you can.”

“I could have done this back at the hotel.”

“You could have. But I needed to be here, and I didn’t want to leave you alone all day.”

“Still don’t trust me?”

I glanced at her even as I settled in front of the computer and opened the email app we used. “If I didn’t trust you, this would be the last place I’d bring you. Besides, aren’t you happy to have something to look at besides the view out the hotel window?”

She glanced behind her at the construction crew walking back and forth in front of the glass wall. “There is a little more to look at here.”

She flicked her eyebrows at me, clearly joking. But I didn’t find it all that amusing.

“Get to work.”

I found myself glancing at her from time to time, watching her write in a dark pen on the faint yellow paper. Her script was neat and tight, feminine but lacking the curlicues that were so common in a woman’s writing. Professional. Her brow wrinkled when she concentrated, which I found oddly comforting.

What she was doing had no investigative value at all. I’d already had Briggs Thomas thoroughly investigated, not only with my own actions following him around and searching dozens of databases, but also by the investigative team back in Memphis whose sole job it was to find out anything and everything on just about anyone. We had a file on Briggs Thomas that was inches thick. He wasn’t a mystery to us.

But if she was still loyal to Briggs, she wouldn’t give us the deepest, darkest secrets he tried to hide.

It was a test I was hoping she wouldn’t fail.

And it was busywork, the kind that was meant to make her feel like we were a team. I wanted her to believe I trusted her. I wanted her to trust me.

And it wasn’t just because we needed to use her to get to Briggs.

I glanced at her and caught her watching me. She smiled, her eyes moving smoothly over the length of me before settling on my face again. There was a suggestion there even before she touched the mattress beside her in an inviting sort of gesture. But she must have seen something on my face because she just smiled and turned her attention back to her writing.

She was tearing the pages off as she went. I got up and grabbed a couple, perusing her words. As expected, a lot of what she was writing I already knew. And that meant she was being honest. Did that mean I could trust her? I wasn’t sure. But it was a step in the right direction.

I happened to glance up a few hours after we arrived and caught sight of Jack speaking to the construction foreman.

“Hey, stay here for a few minutes, okay?”

I got up and slipped out of the office before Rachel answered me.

“Patrick,” Jack said, a big smile on his face as he held out his hand to me. We shook firmly. “Thank you for holding down the fort all this time!”

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

Jack’s smile seemed to grow impossibly wide. “It’s been a ride.” Jack turned to look around the warehouse. “They’re sure making progress. The foreman was just telling me that they should be done in half the time they originally quoted.”

“Yeah, that’s what they’ve been telling me, too.”

“We’ll have a working office in just another month or so. Fantastic!”

His enthusiasm was contagious. But the noise was deafening.

“Why don’t we step outside?”

Jack nodded, leading the way. Once out in the heat of a late Arizona summer, Jack sat against the hood of his car and loosened the collar of his shirt. He looked over at me, taking a moment to really assess what he was looking at.

“I don’t know how you keep those suits clean in that place.”

I glanced down at the expensive black cloth of the Armani suit, smoothing my hands over the simple lines of the double-breasted jacket. “It’s a talent.”

Jack chuckled. “So, we’ve been getting reports, and I’ve talked to you a few times, but why don’t you tell me how things are really going around here.”

I buried my hands in my pants pockets and spread my feet, taking a solid stance as I watched a couple of workers walk past us with two-by-fours on their shoulders.

“Alli’s is doing really well, making a hell of a profit. I think she underestimated how well that website would do for her. And the walk-in business has increased since the Guardians left.”

Jack lowered his head. “And our clients? You said we’ve had three or four new clients since I left?”

“Seven. Mostly just bodyguard type stuff. We did have a cheating husband case a few weeks ago, but that got resolved. And we’ve gotten new calls just this week—one is a potential embezzlement case.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“We’re doing pretty good. Got enough business coming in to keep everyone hopping. In fact, Matthew needs me to come relieve him at Alli’s pretty soon.”

“Alli and Crispin should be back in a week or so. They drove up to Chicago to visit his kid.”

I nodded. I knew that because Crispin had called me, apologizing for the long absence.

“I was thinking we should probably hire a few more operatives now that we’re taking more cases. Ease the load on the rest of you a little.”

“It’s been good to be so busy.”

Jack rubbed his hands over his thighs, his eyes on the ground. “I’m almost afraid to ask,” he said after a moment.

“About the Guardians?”

“Yeah. Any activity on that?”

“Well, like I told you, they have a new leader named Briggs Thomas. He’s a church member from Colorado. He’s a convert to the church, only been a member for a few years, but he’s risen in their hierarchy impressively in such a short time.”

“He’s gathering a crew again?”

“Yes. We’ve got photographs of church members leaving meetings that he convened. Most of the old Guardians were there, the ones who aren’t in jail. And a lot of new people, mostly men.”

Jack nodded. “They done anything yet?”

“Not really. There’s a few flyers that have popped up around town, but nothing else.”

“No harassment? No vandalism?”

“Not yet.”

I tilted my head, trying to decide if I should tell him about Rachel now or not. I’d have to tell him eventually, but the part of me that wanted to trust Rachel was urging me to protect her, too. I could only protect her if I was the only one who knew about her.

“I’d like to see everything you have on this guy,” Jack told me. “I want to be prepared when they do attack, because I have every faith that they will.”

“I’m sure they will. But this guy is smart. I don’t think he’ll use the same tactics that Smythe fellow did.”

“I agree.” Jack dragged his fingers through his hair as he stood again. “We need to know more about how these people tick. My wife and her brother are good sources, but I think we need more. We need to talk to a religious expert.”

“Do you want me to find one?”

“I’ve already got feelers out. We’ll find one.” He came over to me and slapped me on the shoulder. “You’ve been a real rock for us these past few months. I never meant to leave for so long, and I know Crispin didn’t. I appreciate how you stood up.”

“Just doing my job.”

“This is not what you were hired on for.” Jack smiled. “And I won’t forget it.” Jack pulled his car keys out of his pocket and walked around the side of his car. “I’ll be in the office first thing tomorrow. Let the guys know I’d like to have a meeting before the construction workers get going full blast.”

“I will.”

Jack drove off, leaving me standing there in the dust. I stood there for a minute, filled with guilt. Jack was a good and fair boss. More than that, he was a good friend. And I had lied to him through omission by not telling him about Rachel. What was I going to do if this thing blew up in my face?

I went back inside, and, almost as if fate was trying to show me just how wrong I’d been, I found Rachel sitting at my desk, her fingers flying over the keyboard. She hadn’t heard me come back in.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She jumped, fear bright in her eyes. “Nothing!”

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the chair. “I leave you in here alone for five minutes, and you stab me in the back? What were you doing? Putting a virus on our system? Looking up information for your boyfriend?”

“No!” She jerked her wrist, trying to pull it free. “I was checking my email!”

“Do you realize what kind of position I just put myself in because of you? Do you know I could lose my job, lose everything I’ve worked for these past few years, because of you? And the second my back is turned—”

“I didn’t do anything. I swear!”

“You were on the fucking computer!”

“I was checking my email.” Her eyes were wide, tears spilling from the corners as I held her pinned against my chest. “Look at the screen. It’s still there! I wanted you to see it!”

I glanced over at the screen, and she was right—her email app was pulled up on the screen. I jerked her around so I could look at it a little more closely. Briggs’s name was on the folder title, and most of the emails had come from an address that had his initials in the email address.

“What is this?” I demanded, jerking her arms, causing her body to flop against mine. “What are you up to?”

“I wanted to show you the emails he sent me about this. I wanted you to know everything.”

I squeezed her wrist a little harder, watched the pain flash in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“Because I wasn’t sure I could access my email. I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. Or think I was lying about them.” She pressed her free hand against my chest. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, Patrick. I wouldn’t trust me, either. But I’m telling you the truth.”

There was pleading in her eyes, a bright light that was almost like the way a child might look at a shopping mall Santa Claus.

“I’ve put everything on the line for you. You’re either the best secret weapon we could have in this thing against the Guardians, or you’re going to be the end of my career.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said softly.

Something about the way she said it cut through me, right through the layers of the cocoon I’d wrapped myself in the moment I realized I had to leave my home, my family, and everything I’d ever known. Hell, before that, even. The moment I found Kala and realized what I was going to have to do to the men who’d hurt her. And here was this petite, dark-haired woman, this lying, manipulative woman, who somehow knew all the right buttons to push, all the right things to say.

“How do you do that?”

She stepped into me even as I relaxed my hold on her wrist. She rose up on her tiptoes, her lips coming so close to mine that I could already taste her. “You can trust me, Patrick.”

“Can I?”

“He thinks he knows how to use me, how to force me to do what he wants. But he doesn’t know what you know. He doesn’t know how determined I am to be free of him.” She slipped forward just slightly, her lips brushing mine. “And I know you’re the one who will set me free.”

I buried my fingers in her hair, twisting it around to create a hard grip, yanking her head back so that I could look directly into her face.

“If you’re lying to me—”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“If you are, I will make you pay. You and him and anyone else involved in this damn thing.”

“I know.”

I stared into her face for a long moment. I could normally tell when a person was lying to me. I had a radar that was normally infallible. But it didn’t work with her.

“Don’t lie to me,” I groaned as I stole her lips.