And besides she’d reported to the police everything she’d ever seen in the forest and now here. At the beginning, she’d wanted to protect Hannah, her friend, from making even more bad decisions with following Jensen. Caitlyn adjusted her ponytail to tighten it. “Hannah was the more religious one of us, but I fit in better because I am good at delivering what others want from me.” She wasn’t bragging, but she’d learned how to survive her parents until she could escape.
He coughed and her attention returned to his tie that he wore over his shirt that hid his perfectly formed male body. “Why marry me?”
Drat. She swallowed and then let out a small laugh as she looked up at the white ceiling. “Honestly, you were supposed to be horrible and a criminal and the worst choice.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“I was going to make my parents stay far away with you being a bad boy, while I was able to come home to Miami, and have some freedom.”
His disappointment hung in the air. She glanced out the window of his office, toward the tops of the palm trees that lined his balcony. The wind this high in the condo tower was stronger than she’d have imagined to create such sway.
Caitlyn placed her hands over his. “You don’t get it, Roy. You were supposed to be my declaration that I am running my own life.” Her parents came to mind. “That I could live in Miami with plenty of cash without having to follow orders. The plan was perfect.”
He didn’t move as he countered, “You’re not a child anymore.”
Now that was true. She couldn’t blame all her decisions on Sam and Heather. That wasn’t very responsible or adult-like. Caitlyn folded her hands in her lap. “I might pretend to adult, but honestly I am not qualified to be successful on my own. DC taught me I wasn’t happy just going to a job and coming home, without many luxuries. I was too spoiled as a child.”
Another truth. The hardest part of living on her own in DC was the daily monotony of her routine. In the last two years post-college, after leaving the forest, she’d gone to work as a nurse, treated as expendable, only to come home, watch something on TV before bed, and start the cycle all over again the next day. Her life, though free, had been nothing like she’d imagined where she would work as a valued member of a team, enjoy off-time with friends, and live like people on a sitcom.
Roy didn’t get it at all. “I see. So why stay here now?”
Too bad she couldn’t tell him that she voluntarily worked for the police detectives because she’d been sworn not to—though she wasn’t hurting his family in any way. No one was doing anything illegal so he had no worries. “I like your parents and your siblings. I won’t betray you. I can stick it out until you discover who is targeting your family.”
Neither of them moved.
A bird flew outside the clear windows made to withstand hurricanes. “Caitlyn?”
“Yeah?” She glanced at the man way too hot to ever truly be hers.
How did they let someone so charismatic argue in court? Every woman she’d ever known would swoon at the man who was her husband rather than find him mistaken.
Roy stood and offered his hand. “Tonight instead of eating on our own, where you watch something on TV and I work, can we try something different?”
“Like what?” Her senses were alert from the way he held her hand
He gave her a heated look and asked, “Have the meal together while we talk?”
Was that how the devil tempted innocents? She wasn’t sure, but the fire in her belly from his simple glance set her off course. “Like friends?”
He slowly unlaced his fingers from hers. “Knowing more about each other means we can ease the tension.”
The flames inside her threatened to burn brighter even as she said, “Okay. I’d like that.”
She turned to leave, but he handed her the sandwich tray. Right. She took her lunch and left fast, needing to get herself under control and quickly.
Tonight she had a date with her husband. She’d have to banish her fantasies about him and figure out how to sound like herself without getting all flustered with wishes that were never going to come to fruition. Imagination and real life never combined and it was best if she faced him with a cool head.
Roy Bentley’s mind twisted with possible avenues to investigate as he read his parents’ former lawyers’ case notes. There was something here. There had to be. His notepad full of scribbles suggested various options, but nothing so far stuck out as the main road to chase down.
His number one goal right now was to clear his family of all charges. The FBI had a solid case, though almost all of the underlying facts were false.
His brothers and parents were innocent and the man across from him was trying to help him prove it. Harrison Hughes, Harry, was a great appellate lawyer so his work was instrumental once they had all the paperwork in order.
Roy closed the file he’d read, adjusted it to be even on top of the previous folders, and then picked up the next file. “Thanks for helping sort through this.”
Harry said, “If there was anything in my parents’ old case files that might help your family, I want you to have it.”
Harry’s phone began to ring though he silenced it quickly, texted, and then put his phone in his back pocket but not before Roy saw Roxy’s picture flash on the screen.
Roy settled in with the stack of legal documents. “Seems your fiancée wants you home.”
Harry closed the file he’d been reading and leaned forward with his hands folded. “Almost. Roxy and I are getting married this weekend. I have a favor to ask you about that.”
For his help, Roy already owed this man more than a single favor. He glanced up and asked, “What?”
“Look, your brother, Logan, has agreed to be the best man at my wedding since he married my sister, and she’s my only family. But I was hoping you and Caitlyn will come so Caitlyn’s parents don’t feel awkward.”
“Why did you invite them?”
Harry’s face was slightly red. “They were my parents’ friends and wanted to come to my wedding. I didn’t know how to say no.”
Leave the house. The danger was mounting against his family though he’d risk his neck if needed—but not Caitlyn’s.
“Don’t worry about security,” Harry assured him. “I have already arranged for added guards.”
“Then of course.” A prickling sensation on his skin reminded him he should probably speak to Caitlyn first. “When is it?”
Harry picked up the papers he’d been reading while he said, “Friday night festivities and Saturday for the main event. I’ll send you an invitation. Do you need me to talk to Caitlyn too?”
Harry and Roy’s wife’s history always made his spine tingle. He straightened. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to her tonight.”
“Sounds good.” Harry scanned the papers in his hands.
They both worked in silence as the minutes ticked past. Nothing in the document Roy read struck him as paramount.
“Ha!” Harry shoved the paper he’d been reading at him as he said, “Now, in this case file my parents were investigating Lepour for possible intellectual property theft against your father’s investments.”
“I don’t know that name.” Roy read the report Harry had handed him fast.
Roy wrote the name in big letters on his notepad. Could this man be the key?
“Let’s find out more about him,” Harry said. “It might be a cold trail, but I haven’t found any casework that cleared this issue.”
“Sounds good.” Roy’s phone beeped and his glance turned to interest as he realized that an email had just come in from the FBI. His body tightened. “Finally!”
“What?” Harry stopped sorting through the folders.
Roy opened his laptop with trepidation. “It’s the FBI file against my family and me.”
Harry patted him on the back. “Send me a copy. We’ll dig through every morsel and prove your innocence right now.”
“This is good news.” Now he didn�
��t have to piece together what he assumed but rather connect the facts. His old law firm had managed the impossible. He didn’t know what leverage had been used, but he was grateful for the miracle. This email from Susan, his right-hand woman, gave him every piece of evidence the FBI had so he could disprove it, and possibly point the investigation toward whoever was setting the Bentleys up.
The front door of the condo unlocked and a soft chime sounded within the office. Torn, Roy wanted to get right to work but he also needed to talk to Caitlyn—not just about their new weekend plans. “Here it comes.” He forwarded the file to Harry. “My wife is back.”
Harry waited until they both heard the noise that the email had been sent. He then checked his phone, put it down and said, “That’s my cue to leave. We can touch base in the morning after we’ve read the documents?”
“Thank you. I’ll walk you out,” Roy said.
Living with Caitlyn this past month had been strained at first, but now they were almost friends. However, she’d been engaged to Harry and that twisted Roy’s stomach.
They walked into the living room and Harry gave Caitlyn a smile. There was no hug or handshake. “Caitlyn, thanks for the sandwich you left for me.”
She took off her shoes near the door and put them in a cabinet she’d placed there though she handed Harry his shoes while she said, “Not a problem. Give Roxy my best.”
Harry slipped his black loafers on and security walked him toward the elevator. He and Caitlyn waved him off.
He closed the door. Caitlyn took a small cake box she’d left on the counter and headed to the kitchen.
He followed her, trying not to focus on the sway of her hips. Once she closed the refrigerator, he coughed for her attention. She glanced at him in surprise. “Caitlyn, we’re going to Harry and Roxy’s wedding next weekend.”
She hugged her waist. “Will my parents be there?”
Her issues with her parents were likely the reason she had married him. Caitlyn didn’t display any of the usual symptoms he’d seen in abused women though she reminded him of an old client, Linda Banker, who had been, whenever she hugged herself. Roy motioned for her to join him in the living room. “Yes. They were close to Harry’s parents.”
“I know.” She walked past him, heading to the couch.
She sank back against the cushion and he took the seat on the other end of the couch to give her plenty of room. “What’s up with not wanting to see your parents?”
She turned and stared out the window. “Leave it, Roy.”
Linda, when she’d filed for divorce and sought his legal help, hadn’t wanted to use the domestic abuse issues in court and often avoided the discussion when she’d look out the window. Caitlyn had signs of abuse in her past, but perhaps he was clouded with years of law practice. So he kept his distance but asked, “I thought we were getting to know each other.”
She let out a snort, and then turned her entire body, lifting a leg onto the couch like she was about to school him as she tugged her collar. “Fine. They’d hate this dress. They’d hate you simply because of the news. They absolutely hate every choice I’ve ever made in my life that they didn’t pre-decide for me.”
Okay. He understood her rebellion in the past, so he chose his words. “But that doesn’t matter now.”
She slumped a little but nodded her agreement. “I just like to avoid negativity.” She scooted closer to him and met his gaze without blinking. “Can you do me a favor then?”
This could be good as a way to lay the groundwork to trusting each other. “About your parents?”
She swallowed and glanced at his shoulder rather than him. Her face turned red. “Yeah. Can we pretend to be happy and in love at the wedding?”
He flinched. He hadn’t expected that one and he was good at analysis. Roy narrowed his eyes. “You sure you don’t want to sneak away and go home with them?”
Her face turned a more normal color as she met his gaze. “Oh no. Life is pretty good here these days.”
Caitlyn’s strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes sparked something inside his ordinarily hollow heart. Life was pretty good? He frowned and carefully pointed out the facts. “There are people out to throw us back in jail and possibly kill us all.”
She shrugged without batting an eye. “You’ll handle that.”
The trust she conveyed in that sentence skyrocketed the spark to the next level. He took a deeper look, unsure how to pinpoint his wife. She wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. “Your parents bother you more than possible death?”
She slid across the leather seat, her knee poking from the hem of her pale green dress. Not the actions of a victim. She pushed her hair behind her ears and let her hands rest on his that had been pressing into the couch cushion, waking up every cell in his body. “That sounds crazy when you say it like that.”
And once again Caitlyn made zero sense. He blinked and wished he understood her mind even though his heart beat differently from her touch. “I don’t know how else to say it.”
“You don’t know them.”
His voice lowered as he tried to figure out what spell she put on him even as he said, “If that’s what you want. I’ll play along.”
A beep sounded from her phone in her pocket. She let him go and bounced up, heading to the door in a flash. “I have to head upstairs to check on your mom. See you later for our dinner, Roy, and good luck finding a way to clear your names. I know you can do it.”
He waited as she slipped her shoes back on and stared at her backside as the green hem inched up to reveal a flash of thigh. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”
She stood, fluffed her hair, straightened her dress and then opened the door like she was in a marathon and headed for the finish line. “I’m glad we’re talking tonight.”
The moment she left, he could breathe easier. He wasn’t wondering what she was doing or thinking, and how he should react.
He honestly had things to do. He headed into his office and picked up the file Harry had given him. Adam Lepour’s name danced on the page.
Hopefully this was the beginning of new things. He set the paper to the side to show his brothers at their meeting in half an hour and transferred his attention to the FBI file he’d printed.
As the papers were still warm from printing and the last page came out, security beeped his phone and he checked to see who it could be. His brother Dylan had come up, and he texted security to let him in. Roy stood from his desk and headed out of his office to meet him.
Dylan took off his shoes near the door and slipped them in the cabinet. “Hey, Roy.”
He waved him toward the office. “Come in, Dylan.” Once they were inside, Roy motioned to the leather chairs opposite his desk. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
Dylan settled in his seat and asked, “How are things with you and Caitlyn?”
Did his brother, the investigator, smell trouble in his house? Or did he give off a scent of confusion? Roy picked up the FBI file. “About the same with you and Lois, I imagine.”
Dylan nodded like he agreed entirely and wasn’t happy about it. “Lois’ brother took a job at Delta Force One, the security company we hired, so I’m starting to use him in my investigations. But what if—”
“You have no evidence that your wife is the spy and Lois is the most timid out of all the wives. I think you’re okay,” Roy said. If he needed to bet on one of the wives being against them, he’d guess it was Beau’s wife, Sarah, as she was always argumentative. Roy kept the thought to himself. “But if it’s working with her family that’s bothering you, I can’t complain. Caitlyn’s ex-fiancé is here almost daily and we’re going to his wedding this weekend.”
Dylan’s eyes widened as he took his cell phone out of his pocket and asked, “Together?”
“Yeah.” Roy imagined his arms around Caitlyn as he danced with his wife. The image left a wishful taste in his mouth though he didn’t say a word.
Dylan shrugged. “I was thinki
ng of taking Lois out of town for the weekend so we can really talk, away from the threat of danger. All my leads have gone nowhere.”
Right. The investigation. Roy needed to focus. He handed over the folder from the Hughes’ case to his brother. “Speaking of. Adam Lepour was being investigated against stealing from our father before we were arrested.”
Dylan opened the file. “I don’t know that name.”
His brother quickly read the information as Roy said, “It was in the legal files we just received from Harry. Please find this guy and check out any connection to Kirno.”
Dylan closed the folder and stood. “I’m on it. We’re counting on you to clear our names so we can travel without the government on our tails. My trip with Lois has to be within the United States.”
Roy rose, wanting to wave his magic wand and prove his case, but he needed evidence he didn’t have. “That’s all I work on.” Which could be why things with Caitlyn were strained.
Dylan headed out as he saluted him. “That’s all any of us work on. Bye.”
Roy wished his mind was focused. Lately his thoughts kept wondering what Caitlyn was up to, even though he knew she was upstairs taking his mother’s blood pressure. Perhaps if he worked harder at ensuring they were compatible and friendly, the attraction in his veins would relax and he could do his job.
Caitlyn went through the clothes in her closet and chose a knee-length blue dress that skimmed her waist and pushed up her chest slightly for tonight’s meeting with Roy. Hannah had agreed to help her with her hair and makeup, so she brought the dress with her to make sure it wasn’t too much.
She rang the doorbell of her best friend’s door. Hannah immediately opened it and grabbed Caitlyn in a hug.
“Thank you!”
Hannah waved her inside the condo she shared with Logan, Roy’s brother, and ushered her to the extra bedroom. “Come. We’ll figure out your hair. I have the supplies.”
Their condos were almost identical, though Hannah’s extra bedroom was pretty much the same layout where Caitlyn slept every night in her own apartment, but she didn’t say that. She hung up the dress behind the door and said, “I’m nervous.”
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