I knew that Stefan hated Gavin, so I could only imagine that his good news had something to do with him scaring Gavin away from me for good. But if my husband thought that was going to stand with me, he was about to realize he’d been wrong.
“It’s not what you think,” Stefan assured me, clearly seeing the concern on my face.
“You sure I don’t need to call someone to retrieve the body?” I asked, only half teasing.
He smiled. “Trust me, it wasn’t like that. Do you know anything about his family?”
I shook my head. “I know he has a brother, and that they were raised by a single mom. But we never really got too deep into it,” I said. “We mostly just talked about school stuff.”
“Gavin’s brother works for the DOD,” Stefan told me. “His name is Frank Chase. He’s actually my contact there, but I never made the connection between the two.”
I absorbed the information. “So does that mean…?”
Stefan nodded. “Gavin wanted to get close to you for more complicated reasons than it seemed,” he said. “Not that I doubt he was attracted to you—but I that’s not why he befriended you to begin with.”
It all made sense. The way Gavin had shown up midway through the semester, the way he’d been interested in me right from the start, how he’d worked so hard to maintain our friendship, even when I gave him the cold shoulder. And despite the fact that my ego was a little bruised, I couldn’t help remembering what Gavin had said the night we went out for pizza. Something about how his interest in me hadn’t been part of the plan. This had to be related.
“So he’s working for the feds, too,” I said.
Stefan took a drink from his glass. “I met with him this afternoon. Apparently after I made contact with the DOD, they planted Gavin in your life, trying to use that connection to figure out if I could be trusted, or if I was a bigger part of the trafficking ring than I’d led them to believe. If I was somehow trying to play both sides.”
“That’s pretty smart,” I admitted. “Using me to get to you. I never saw it coming.”
“They’re good at what they do,” he said. “Gavin told me that if it had turned out I was involved in the trafficking, they were going to try to convince you to testify against me. Or give up evidence, if there was any to give.”
It wasn’t a great feeling to realize that all these months I had been manipulated by both sides—and kept completely in the dark. But now everything was finally coming to light.
“But there isn’t any evidence,” I said. “This is all your father’s doing. Not yours.”
I should have known that Gavin was keeping something from me—especially after everything that had happened that night at the club. No wonder he’d tried to convince me that Stefan was the one responsible for drugging me. He’d been trying to turn me against my own husband. It was a lot to take in. I understood Gavin’s motivations, but I still felt betrayed.
Stefan continued, “Now that I’ve proven myself, I can use Gavin to pass critical proof against my father to the feds. It’s all coming together.”
All this new information was a shock, but I was thrilled that my husband trusted me enough to bring me on board.
“So what happens next?” I said.
He looked at me, and I could see the emotions warring in his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about your request. And I hate the idea of putting you in danger. But you’re right—you’re a valuable asset. So…I’ve found a way you can help me bring down KZM.”
“Tell me. I’ll do anything,” I said.
“I’ve already arranged everything with Gavin. He and I met on the UChicago campus today, in plain sight of plenty of witnesses. We discussed how the situation would work, but mostly we made it look like I was a jealous husband confronting him about his interest in you. We made a big scene, and I threatened him. I said I’d kill him if he ever touched you again.”
“I bet Gavin didn’t like that,” I said. Even knowing it had been staged, I was a little turned on. I loved it when Stefan was possessive.
Stefan laughed. “He actually let me give him a black eye.” He held up his hand, still curved in a fist. “Just to make sure it all looked real.”
I took Stefan’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
“But that was a one-time deal. I can’t be seen in public with him again,” Stefan told me. “And that means I can’t hand over any documents to him without it looking suspicious. That will have to be your job. Anything I get that will be of use to the feds will have to go through the two of you. You’ll have to pretend you’re exchanging class notes.”
“Of course.” I nodded eagerly. “I can do that. I’m grateful to be able to help.”
He reached up to take my face in his hands, and he kissed me softly.
“Thank you.”
Then he kissed me again, deeper this time, until I was almost out of breath.
