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“It’s still risky. Anyone could’ve seen you,” he huffs out harshly. Silence stretches between us, and when I glance up at Barrett, I see worry and concern written all over his face. “You can’t get reeled in again. You know that. It’s taken all of us the good part of a year to get over everything that went down. The man that did what he did is not the same one you grew up with.”
I sigh. “I know.” It’s what I don’t say that I know Barrett hears the loudest though. The lack of denial. The silent defense of the man who turned all of our lives upside down that’s resting on the tip of my tongue. Guess I need to call my therapist for another appointment.
“Must've been hard to see him again,” he says quietly after a spell.
Suring up my shoulders, I look up. “It had to be done. You told me to have my eyes and ears open at all times and to mitigate any conflicts as they arise. Aiden turning up at the same club I'm working undercover at is one of the biggest damn conflicts there could be.”
“Your cover is solid. There aren't any cracks or ties—nothing at all to connect you to Quinn Johnson. She’s an up-and-comer, tenacious, ambitious. A go-getter who hopefully turns the eye of Decker James because she’s unattainable. Your job is to earn his confidence and get the proof we need to get him. Anything that compromises that needs to be eliminated.”
“I know that, Barrett. But you know the connection that’s always been there between me and Aiden. That hasn’t changed, as hard as I tried to put it behind me and forget him.” How does the man still have this hold over me despite everything he’s done?
“He has that connection and history with Marlee. You cannot forget he’s also the man that almost destroyed not only your career in the police force, but who would’ve also stopped you from being where you are right now, working a case that will make you. And that’s all on top of him breaking his oath and almost getting me and Alyssa killed.”
I flinch at the mention of Barrett’s shooting, remembering the day we nearly lost him and how that came about. Barrett left the FBI as a result and was happily moving on with his life with Alyssa, his now wife. That's until Decker seemingly appeared out of nowhere as the public face of the biggest and most sought-after nightlife venue in Vegas, waving huge invisible red flags in his wake.
Three months later I’m working undercover, Barrett came back to be my handler, as part of a cross agency operation with one goal, ending the reign of the ‘Fixer.’
“You know I'm not ever going to defend his actions, especially not when it almost killed you, but we can’t ignore the fact that he’s back. Like it or not, he's involved.”
Barrett rubs a hand over his face, looking tired. “I get it. Just don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement. If he's working for Harry, then I don't believe he's dirty. But—"
“It doesn't mean it's not dirty and they just don't know it?” I say with a sigh.
“It if smells like a pig, and looks like a pig...”
“Then it's probably covered in mud?” I say with a wry grin.
He scrubs his face and chuckles. “Or shit. Pretty much the same thing.”
“So, what do we do?”
Barrett looks me straight in the eye and what I see there reminds me why he’s so good at what he does. He’s the only man I trust to have my six while I’m on the job playing Quinn. He would never let anything happen to me and will do everything in his power to ensure I’m safe—even if it means dealing with the man who almost took away the love of his life.
“I’ll make a few calls and if need be, go see Harry myself. You’re not seeing Decker again until Thursday, correct?”
I nod. “Dinner at The Phoenix, eight p.m.”
“OK. If need be I’ll do an overnight trip to Seattle. Until you hear from me, you don’t have anything to do with Aiden. You go to the office, you work your leads, you go home. Do not see him again. Don’t talk to him unless it’s absolutely necessary for the case. We need to play this close to our chest until we get confirmation that he’s not working against us. OK?”
“Yes, Dad,” I say with a cheeky smirk before Barrett’s growl tells me it’s not the time for jokes. “I get it. I’ll stay away until I hear from you.”
“Just got to hope you can actually do it,” he mutters, downing the rest of his coffee and getting to his feet. He pulls out his wallet and peels a few bills out before placing them on the table.
My brows jump high. “You don’t think I can, do you?”
“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now. Not about him, not about you and him, and not about him being back in Vegas. Please just do this, if not for me, for yourself.”
Then he’s gone, succeeding in doing the exact thing he was aiming for—giving me a whole bunch of crap to think about. Aiden taking the number one spot.
Chapter 7
Aiden
Harry hasn’t been answering my calls, but strangely has been replying to text messages. It’s not at all like the man I know but I’ve also never been sent out of state to work a case for an anonymous client and told to “focus and work the case” either. Maybe it was Harry-speak for “you’re on your own, kid.”
Sitting at my desk, I stare blankly at the screen of my laptop as my thoughts turn to my after-work visit the other night. With her long, wavy hair and those full, pouty lips of hers that just beg to be kissed, and her piercing brown eyes that have always been able to bore straight into my soul. Just like every other time I've been near her, she has me spinning in circles without even trying. Her presence, her smell, everything about her short circuits my brain.
I shake my head. I have a job to do, and I can't let my feelings and history with Marlee cloud my judgment or distract me. I need to focus on the case and not on Marlee’s reappearance in my life or the fact she’s working undercover on something she cannot and will not loop me in on. I lost all credibility and trustfulness when I screwed her and everyone else over.
