Page 6 of Justified Lies (TFH Team Bravo #3)

He studied her for a moment. He was one of those kinds of guys who had women turning their heads as they walked past him. The movie star looks caught their attention, but this look now would scare the hell out of any woman who thought he would be a fun guy.

“Stop looking at me like I’m a suspect.”

His mouth twitched. They worked together well because they understood that digging around in their pasts wasn’t something their partner should do.

Maybe that was changing. If so, she would need a new partner, and she hated that. She and Ian had the same work ethic.

“It has to do with this guy having your phone number. Did you know him well?”

She shrugged. “Not that well. I mean, we knew each other because we worked in the same region, but not that well.”

“So not a former lover?”

She snorted, then sobered. “No. I was involved with one man the four years I worked in the Middle East for obvious reasons.”

Ian nodded, understanding filling his eyes. It was easier when you were undercover and not the public face of your family’s business. Or at least, she thought it might be. She had never lived that way. Ever.

“I know that it isn’t easy to deal with being in the limelight either at large or just in the organization.”

Ian had also grown up the way she had. Her father was a legend in MI-6.

Both of them had dealt with expectations from their parents and the organization as a whole.

It was a lot to deal with, but at least she had El.

Until his father had found out that Autumn was actually his daughter, Ian had grown up with no siblings.

She nodded. “Anyway, I didn’t know him that well. He had the same monitoring agent, of course.”

“Does he have anything to do with that O’Malley who was murdered?”

For a second, she felt her breath freeze in her lungs. “Hmm? O’Malley?”

“Stop the act, Eden. I knew Edwin. Nasty bit of goods.”

She rolled her shoulders. “I’m not sure. I just don’t know what’s happening. It’s almost like someone is killing people to cover something up, if you know what I mean.”

And she knew from his expression, he did. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. When Emily told me his name, I remembered he was an agent in your region. Do you think it has anything to do with your outing?”

“Truthfully, I’m not so sure. Why wait this long? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“People rarely make sense, especially spies.”

“What makes you think it’s a spy?”

He gave her a look of disgust. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

“Sorry.”

And she was. She liked Ian. He was one of the partners she’d had who she felt understood her.

“Trust me. I can help you.”

She did trust him, but there was something else that bothered her. “You could be put at risk.”

He rolled his eyes. “I can bloody well handle anything they have.”

“Really? Because that’s what El thought too.”

He pursed his lips as he studied her for a long, uncomfortable moment. Usually, long moments of silence didn’t bother her, but she felt the weight of her partner’s irritation. Then, his face cleared.

“You care about me, and you’re trying to protect me. I’ll have to tell Autumn because she still isn’t sure about you.”

Autumn Bradford was a thorn in her side.

She had boldly questioned Eden about whether Ian could trust her.

Granted, she would do the same to anyone who worked with her brother, but he was more of a lone wolf than a partner type.

At least, these days he was. The only person he would work with other than Eden was Emily, and Eden knew she could trust her.

“Anyway, there is no reason for that. We’ll have drinks after work.”

Then he strode away as if his announcement changed everything. She hurried after him.

“I don’t do drinks.”

“That’s okay. You can drive.”

She could fight it, but Ian could be tenacious. She would just have to come up with something before then. Sam said she could trust Ian, and she had never steered Eden wrong. But everyone who would help her would be drawn into the danger, and Eden would feel responsible if Ian got hurt.

El sat in his car down the street from TFH headquarters.

He wasn’t happy with the situation, and he was more than a little pissed that Hanson was back in Eden’s life because of this mess.

When El found out that he was on the island, he had moved to the area.

Eden was strong, but that man had always been her weakness.

If he had stood by her all those years ago, El would be happy for her to be with him.

Instead, Hanson had turned his back on her, broken her when she had been at her lowest.

That was something El would never forgive, and it put Hanson in the “don’t trust” category. So, he sat in his car, his gaze trained on the front door, waiting for him and his ‘partner’ to come out.

He was so intent on watching the door that when someone knocked on the passenger door window, he jumped. Fuck. Rookie mistake.

Emily bent down to eye level with him. He didn’t immediately unlock the door, so her eyebrow raised.

Dammit, he didn’t need her here. Not that she wasn’t a good agent.

She was smarter than many people gave her credit for, which worked to her advantage in the field.

That high IQ was a problem when he was around her because she tended to mess with his concentration.

Nothing that she did in particular. Just existing in his orbit seemed to leave him befuddled.

With reluctance, he unlocked the door.

“That was very rude,” she said in way of greeting as she settled in the passenger seat.

“How did you find me?”

“You have a Dillon Security car. I just looked ya up.”

“I dismantled…”

She laughed. “Like there’s only one of them on the cars. I would never let that happen.”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He loved her laugh. It was filled with joy…something he had not experienced a lot of in the last three years.

“Did the boss send you?”

“Naw. He’s spending time with his lawyers discussing the search warrant that we all know is coming. Just so you know, Devon Stryker said he’d swear that you were with them.”

“We were.”

“I know. Just keeping you updated since you turned off your phone. Your sister got my gig, and since I was done for the day, I thought I should find you and make sure you aren’t fucking up your life.”

He blinked. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “I have three older brothers, so I understand your species. I know that you are sitting down the street from TFH, where your sister’s ex works.”

He said nothing.

“Listen, I get it. I would do the same thing. There was this girl one time who was really trying to fuck with Aaron. You know he’s a big teddy bear.”

El did not know that. Aaron Daniels won the MMA World Title three years in a row before he retired. The man was a machine in the ring, and thinking of him as a teddy bear was just insane.

“See, she thought she could use him for money. Think about it. He had all those endorsements and, well, she thought she could bleed him dry. I knew there was something up about her from the start. Not that I would think any woman wouldn’t be lucky to get any of my brothers, just that there was something off about her. So, I researched her.”

“You used your Dillon access?”

“Naw, I was in college. That skank was wanted in Utah for owing her ex thousands of dollars.”

“What did Aaron say? Did he get mad at you?”

“Tsk, tsk. I didn’t tell him. That would have just upset him. I called the authorities and had her arrested. See, that ex? He had been her boss, and the thousands had been embezzled.”

He blinked. “He had no idea you turned her in?”

“Nope. I saved my brother and kept his pride intact.”

This was the exact reason he worried about her. She was so damned clever.

“Like I said, I get it. Your sister is still infatuated with him. And he’s hung up on her.”

El snorted. “He abandoned her.”

She tilted her head. Damn, she was pretty. He loved smart women, and she fit the bill. Tall, with long, dark hair and blue eyes, she always seemed to be able to see more than most people.

“I get that. We all make mistakes, El. One decision can alter your life and the lives of people you care about. One day, everything is fine, and one little decision can leave your world in smithereens.”

There was a note in her voice that left his blood cold. He studied her profile, trying to discern what she was actually saying.

“Don’t. You won’t like what you find,” she said. Then she looked at him, gave him that blinding smile of hers. “So, how long are we staying here today?”

He sighed. “Until they leave for the day.”

“And what is our objective?”

He blinked at her.

“Because if it’s intimidation, that’s a bad idea, cowboy. You could be charged with obstruction of justice. Then your sister would be on her own. That would be bad.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Absolutely nothing. Seriously. But it’s a vibe I have. Bad juju dancing around you and Eden. She needs you by her side. Don’t fuck that up.”

Fuck, she was right. What the hell was he trying to prove by being here?

“I get it, like I said, but we can only go so far protecting the people we love. Sometimes, the live and learn aspect is the most important part of a relationship that fails.”

“You just said you turned in your brother’s girlfriend.”

“First of all, she was wanted for a felony. Second of all, I’m cool with Aaron dealing with his own girlfriends. If you saw how many women he had while he was fighting…” she rolled her eyes. “And even now. Not that I’m a prude, it’s just gross thinking about my brother that way.”

“But you turned her in.”

“Because of the financial aspect of it. Treat my brother like the skank he is? I’m okay with that. But go after his money? Fuck that.”

Before he could respond, his phone rang. It was a blocked number. Only one other person had his burner cell number.

“What the fuck are you doing outside of TFH?” Lila, aka Sam, demanded.

“Funny thing, Emily asked the same question.”

“That’s because she’s brilliant. I know you want to make Hanson pay for hurting your sister, but we both know what’s going on.”

Yeah. Guilt. If he hadn’t gotten picked up and tortured, Eden wouldn’t have gone rogue to get him.

“So, get out of there. Take Emily out for dinner.”

“Are you insane?”

“No. I think she might be there to save you from being an eejit.”

“Fine.”

“Good, now I have some research to work on. Go away.”

With that, she hung up.

“The women in my life are a pain in the ass.”

“I love you, too, Elwood.”

He sighed. “Where do you want to eat?”

Another blinding smile. “Side Street Inn.”

He started up the car. He knew they were all right, but something was wrong, beyond that, all of their suspects kept getting off’d, and watching the watchers usually worked for him.

He would just need another tactic, or the brewing storm would drown both him and Eden.