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He threw out a hand and held it open. “At least let me explain.” Though it would only be another lie until he could tell her the truth.
Her eyes narrowed. She expected a lie. “No. This has gone far enough, Finn. I’m sorry for my reaction tonight. I only came by to tell you Lilah won’t be back. I’ve been taken off the case.”
He pretended to be surprised, disappointed when she bought his act. “So why come by? Why not just disappear?”
“To warn you.” She pulled her towel tighter around her. “I can’t protect you anymore. Stay away from there, please.”
“Why?” He pushed closer, and she shuffled back, though she still didn’t leave enough room for him to slip inside.
“I don’t want to see you hurt,” she confessed.
“Because you love me?”
“Because my brother does. You and I were merely part of the job.”
Even knowing it was the first lie she’d ever told him didn’t ease the pain of her words. He understood now why she’d been chosen for undercover work, turned out Gretchen Christensen was a great fucking con artist too.
“I thought you said you weren’t a liar,” he challenged.
She didn’t even blink. “Good luck.” She stepped back and forced the door closed.
Finn stood on the other side. Maybe by pure will he could get her to open the door to him, instead he listened as her footsteps grew fainter and then her lights went out one by one. He nodded to himself, uneasy with the sense of pride surging inside him. He walked away, vowing that in the end she’d be his, and he’d finally start loving her the way she deserved.
Chapter 15
Inexplicably, Gretchen had managed to go back to the life she’d led before she fell irrevocably in love with Finn James. Somehow, she got up every day and pretended her entire world hadn’t been turned on its axis. She tried to tell herself he felt the same way, but as reports came back of him spending more and more time with Ronnie Sinclair, it became increasingly difficult to convince herself he’d ever cared for her at all.
She sat now, leaning back in her chair, her feet propped on the edge of the table, as Carpenter shared a similar report of the activities from the previous night. She laid her head back and stared at the ceiling. Every time they spoke of Jay Finley, she told herself they talked about someone she didn’t know, because truthfully, she hadn’t known Finn at all.
“Any thoughts, Chris?” the captain snapped her to attention.
“I’m sorry, what?” She dropped her feet and sat up.
Carpenter rolled his eyes and beside her Neil suppressed a laugh.
“We’re going in next Thursday,” Carpenter repeated for her benefit. “Any thoughts?”
She had plenty of thoughts. None of which she would voice to her superior. She needed to get Finn out of the club without anyone knowing she’d tipped him off, and more importantly, without him telling Ronnie and blowing the whole case to shit.
“They’ll have all their muscle there Thursday,” she mused. Carlisle planned to entertain his biggest supplier that night, which meant Ronnie would provide her girls’ services.
“So will we,” Carpenter assured her. “So far everything we’ve received from our source and our inside guy’s proven true, I’m willing to go with this.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Unless there’s something you know.”
She held his gaze for a moment before she shook her head. “Let me at Ronnie Sinclair and I’ll do whatever you want.”
She didn’t realize how venomous she sounded until she heard the sharp gasps of a few of her fellow agents. She turned her glare to them now in a dare.
One raised his chin. “She do that to your face a few weeks ago?”
She shook her head. “She didn’t have the balls, just the bank account.”
“Tell me who she hired, and I’ll take care of them,” another agent spoke up.
She couldn’t help her smile, despite the anger inside her. These men wouldn’t turn on her the way Finn had. “Already handled,” she answered quietly.
“From inside?” The same agent let out a low whistle. “They did that for you?”
She didn’t answer. Had anything Finn did actually been for her?
