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“She's still the VP. Talk to her with the respect she deserves.”

“Trey,” I groan.

Sam looks from me to the man hovering over my shoulder and back again. “Oh, hell. You two are….” His green gaze slices through me. I shrink back deeper into the chair. “Forget it, Randi.” Fingers gripped around the armrest, Sam pushes out of the chair so hard it tips on its back legs from the force. “I'm not getting into the middle of this. I've worked my damn ass off to get this AAG spot, and I sure as hell won't let the shit storm you two are creating take me down with you. I'll get the information I need on my own.”

“Sam,” I beg. Before he can step away, I lunge forward and wrap my fingers around his wrist. “It's too late for that.”

“What?” he growls as he turns back to me, every muscle taut like he’s ready for a fight. “What the hell did you do?”

“I panicked.”

“What the fuck did you do?” he shouts.

I wince. “Can you please sit back down and I’ll explain. This is not going as planned.”

“How else did you think I'd react to you fucking me over?” he roars, tossing his arms out to the side.

Trey maneuvers between us, placing his tight ass right at my eye level.

Sam's words finally click. I tilt around Trey’s shoulders and look up at the now fuming Sam. “What are you talking about?”

“You sold me out. You told that fucker what we're—”

“Whoa there, cowboy.” I push out of the chair and step around Trey, who moves with me, cutting off my path to Sam. “I didn't sell you out. I was forced to concoct an excuse—on the fly, mind you—for why you've been coming around so much and why we nearly traveled to a different state for a damn run.”

“And what did you come up with, Randi?” Chest heaving, Sam steps around the coffee table, putting him in Trey’s personal space. The three of us stand crowded in the tight four-foot area.

Terrible idea, Sam.

“Trey, please move,” I say on a slow exhale while rubbing my temples. “You know he won’t hurt me. Just let us talk without you acting as a wall.”

Trey doesn't shift even a centimeter.

I press a reassuring hand between his shoulder blades. “He and I have to talk this through, and we can’t with you standing here.”

A jagged fracture bolts through my heart as Trey shrugs off my touch and steps around the chairs. Without another word, he positions himself along the bookshelf once again, his eyes never meeting mine.

“What did you tell him, Randi?” Sam says behind me. “Worry about your personal life later. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

“I told him we're together.” My shoulders rise in a half shrug, half cringe. “That’s the excuse for why you've been coming over. I reassured Kyle that I wasn't helping you in the investigation, that I wasn't that dumb to go against him, and you and I are… well, intimate.”

“And he believed it.”

Exhaustion swoops in, draining the minuscule amount of energy I had left. Falling into the chair, I rest my head back and close my eyes. “No, not at first, and not really by the time he left. But I think I bought us time. Plus, he said he'd think of some way for me to prove my loyalty of sorts.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

I chuckle a fake laugh. “No joke. But at least it got him off my ass for a while and out the door. I was in shock when he showed up unannounced, and then he knew everything about you coming over, the run, the additional meetings. Listen, I'm sorry I said it without consulting with you first, but I had no choice. I don't even know if you have a girlfriend. Or boyfriend for that matter.” The last few words come at as more a grumble.

“Girlfriend.”

“Oh,” I say, unsure why I’m so disappointed.

“No, you misunderstood. I'm not saying I have one at the moment. I'm saying it would be the girlfriend, not the boyfriend. I'm not gay.”

I open one eye, relief setting in at the smile he's trying to fight.

“Oh, okay. That's good, I guess.”