“If you think I’m a liar, why haven’t you called it in already? Why isn’t the Jubilee Falls police department closing in on us as we speak?” I tugged against the handcuffs again, even though I knew it was hopeless. “Could you at least let me put on pants before I’m hauled off for a crime I didn’t commit?”
She pursed her lips and turned back to me.
“I didn’t call anyone. I dialed. Hell, I almost called a dozen times while you were asleep, but I couldn’t hit send. I couldn’t make it connect.” She set the phone on the mattress between us, and my heart pounded as she reached over and pressed her hand to my chest. “Tell me I didn’t make a mistake not calling my contact.”
I wished I had some way to get loose of the handcuffs, to touch her, pull her into my arms.
“V, you know me. You might not know every detail of my life, but I’ve been as honest as I could, from the moment I saw you. I gave you my name. My real name. You could’ve called me in at any time, but you didn’t. Please, V. Let me out of these cuffs. Let’s talk.”
She pulled away, but only far enough we weren’t touching anymore.
“Tell me the truth now. Convince me that this is the real Archer. Not the one I saw on paper.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. I’m not a criminal. I’ve had a few arrests; I was young and stupid once. Hung out with a lot of idiots in high school, did idiot things. But I’m not a criminal. And I don’t know who the fuck is telling you I am, but this is bullshit. I don’t even know how you know who I am. Archer Janson is supposed to be a ghost. You should only be able to find Daniel. Why the fuck are you looking for me?” I struggled against my restraints. “I’m telling the truth about WITSEC. I’ll tell you my story, but then you have to tell me what the fuck is going on. Why is there someone in Chicago looking for Archer Janson?” There had to be some mistake. Please, God, let there be some mistake.
I shifted on the bed, trying to ease the pull of the handcuffs on my shoulders, but gave up.
“I’m listening.”
I launched into my time with Macchio and being an informant for the FBI. She listened, her expression never giving anything away.
V sat in silence as I told her about the books at Lucky’s, about telling Ant what I’d found, and everything that came after. I couldn’t tell if she believed me, or if I was pouring my guts out to a woman who would haul me to Chicago anyway, but it felt good to say it all out loud. Aside from the FBI, including Ant, I hadn’t ever gotten to talk about what had happened to me. I’d been debriefed after I came in an as informant. I gave them all the information I could, and then I testified. They gave me a new life and I wasn’t supposed to look back. I’d been living a lie even before I started living as Daniel, I hadn’t realized just how much I was keeping bottled up by not being myself.
By the time I got to the end, I was ragged with relief and wondering what the hell would happen next.
When I finished, I glanced over at Veronica, nervously waiting for her verdict.
At that moment, she was judge, jury, and if she found me guilty, my executioner.
There was only one reason I could come up with for why there would be a warrant out for my arrest in Chicago—a dirty cop working for Macchio was out for blood. The FBI knew his network of minions reached beyond New York. If I was right, I doubted I’d even make it to a jail cell if Veronica decided to turn me in.
“Please, V, get my phone. We’ll call my handler. He can confirm everything I said.” The longer she stayed quiet, the more concerned I grew for my life.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her phone buzzed.
11
VERONICA
I didn’t have to flip my vibrating phone over to know who it was. He’d already called once.
Lieutenant Parsons was unrelenting. He never put this much pressure on me to find a mark. What exactly did he have riding on finding Archer Janson?
The buzzing stopped, but it didn’t do anything to quiet the thoughts in my head.
Archer’s story was believable—too believable.
If he wasn’t lying, it begged the question—was Parsons dirty? Was he in bed with an organized crime syndicate out of New York? And if he was, how many other people had I hunted down, not because they were actual criminals, but because they’d somehow offended the kingpin?
My stomach rolled, and I bit my inner cheek to keep from throwing up bile on Archer’s carpet.
My phone started to buzz again, and I cursed under my breath.
“Stay quiet, Archer.” I glared at him and answered the call with a frown. “Neptune.”
“When I call, you answer.” Lieutenant Parsons’s voice was terse. “Where is Janson? I’m not playing games with you anymore.”
“You’re not my boss, Parsons. If you don’t trust me to do the job, then find someone else. Good luck though, he’s in the wind. Must’ve caught on something was up.”
The silence on the other side of the phone only made the knot in my stomach tighten.
“Why are you lying to me?”
“If you don’t believe me, that’s your prerogative, but the longer you keep me on the phone, the colder the trail gets, and the more you’re going to owe me when I bring him in.” I hung up and turned my phone off.
I met Archer’s gaze. He lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.
I got up, pulled out the key to the handcuffs, and let him loose. I was going against everything inside of me. I never trusted anyone. I chose jobs where the lines were black and light, but everything around me was smeared with unknown and confusing grey.
Jared would laugh at me when he learned of the mess I’d gotten myself into. After all the phone calls we’d shared about the women he’d dated and inevitably broken his heart. And here I was up to my ass in trouble. I was either in love with Archer or in with a dirty cop or both. And none of it sat right.
“What do you need to disappear again?”
Archer rubbed his wrists as he sat up. It didn’t even seem like he’d heard me.
“What do you need to do to disappear again?”
He blinked at me, seemingly surprised by the question or my reaction.
I needed him to answer me. I needed to get him out of my life so I couldn’t bring the danger down on him that was probably headed right for us.
Archer sighed and pulled on a pair of loose-fitting shorts. They hardly took away from the distracting sight of his mostly naked body.
“You going to tell me who the hell you really are?” His voice was low and dangerous.
I didn’t want to meet his gaze. Telling him the truth meant he would think all our time together was a lie. And while it was, I’d never felt more like myself than when I was with him. I didn’t trust easily, and I certainly didn’t open up to anyone aside from Jared. Even he got the subverted version of the truth. I wanted Archer to know the truth about me, but I wanted him to trust me again. The guy had every reason to kick me out of his life and never look back. “I’m a private investigator. I work all over the country. Most of the time I’m taking dirty pictures for suspicious spouses. It pays well. I look up dirt on people. I’ve done some work for big corporations. I make a living proving people are liars and helping the police put away criminals.”
Archer tucked his index finger under my chin and pulled my gaze up to his. “Do you usually fuck the people you’re tracking?”
I jerked away from him. “Is that what you think of me?”
“What am I supposed to think? You fucked me until I was passed out and then locked me up and threatened to call the cops.”
I clenched my fists, my shoulders tightened. “Fuck you, Archer. I was doing my job. No, I don’t usually fuck my marks. I flirt a little. I do what I need to do to get them to put their guard down. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly a six-foot muscular man. I’m not intimidating. But I have tits and ass, and you men always fall for it.” My voice was so loud, I was wondering if a neighbor would call the cops on us.
“That’s it? I was just another mark, but I helped you get your rocks off first?” He was yelling now too, crowding me.
I didn’t let him intimidate me. I stepped forward and jabbed my finger into his chest. “I don’t remember hearing you complain.”
He grabbed my wrist and wrenched down and twisted it behind my back. He didn’t hurt me, but I was pushed up flush against his still mostly naked body. His dark eyes were blazing with this look. I wasn’t sure in that moment what he wanted. I was half afraid he was going to lock me up and leave me while he ran away.
Instead he kissed me hard.
He released my arm and pulled me tighter against him. My arms wound up, my fingers grazing the hair at the nape of his neck.
It would’ve been so easy to sink into his kiss, to let him strip me out of my clothes so we could go back to the fun of the night before, but everything had changed now. If Parsons was dirty, if I was here carrying out a dirty cop’s personal vendetta, and Archer got hurt or worse, I’d never be able to live with myself.
I broke the kiss with a groan and put a few feet between us.
“Fuck,” Archer growled. “What now?”
“Now, you disappear again so you’re safe.”
“And what about you? Is Parsons going to be so forgiving?”
“I don’t give a shit.” Why wouldn’t he just leave?
“I should probably call my handler…” He sighed and sank down on the bed again, making no effort to find his phone.
When he didn’t say anything else, I sat next to him and offered him my phone.
He didn’t take it.
“How much does your cop friend know?”
“My guess?” I shrugged. “He’s probably been playing me from the start. He could’ve used my cell phone or my credit cards to try to track me, find out where I’m looking for you. I mostly use cash, and the phone’s a burner, but I flew into Omaha. I put the rental on a card. My laptop’s got a wi-fi hotspot. Hell, he could’ve put a tracker on me at some point. I’m usually pretty observant, but I’ve been pretty distracted, so for all I know, he’s already in town.” I frowned and stared at the floor. “It’s only a matter of time. Maybe he was the one tailing you the other night.”
“Tailing me?” His eyes searched mine. “Are you the one who bugged me?”
I let out a deflated sigh. “Yes, I bugged the library, your apartment, your phone and tagged your car.”
“Jesus. How long have you been searching for me?”
“Not long. You made a mistake keeping your real identity in the boxing arena. I found you really easily. It’s probably how Parsons found you. Or whoever. You were supposed to cut all ties, weren’t you?”
He raked his hands through his hair. “I thought it was harmless. Who would even know to look for me there? God, I’m an idiot.”
My brain was burning through scenarios and ideas.
“What if we lead him off your trail? Drive up to Omaha, make a few purchases, stuff you’d need if I slipped through your fingers? Maybe even put you on a plane?” His voice almost trembled, saddened by the idea. “I could meet you somewhere in a few days. I’ve got vacation time, and Lynette doesn’t really need a second librarian most of the time. No one would even really miss me if I left. If we can’t shake him in a week or two, then maybe we call my handler.”
“Archer, that’s crazy. You can’t dodge the FBI. And you can’t dodge Parsons. He’s not going to trust me after this. If everything you told me is true, then the most important thing is your safety.” I knew I shouldn’t have worded it that way. I trusted Archer, I believed what he told me, but admitting that meant admitting I’d been working with a dirty cop, and I wasn’t ready for my reputation to get dragged through the mud, just because I was doing my job. Wasn’t that how Archer had ended up in this position? Just doing his job…
“I think you need to call your handler.”
“V, if I call him, it’s over. Everything I’ve worked for here. It would be…” He shook his head like he couldn’t stomach the idea of saying the words out loud.
He didn’t have to. I knew what would happen if he reported this to WITSEC. He’d get moved. He really would be in the wind, and I could be indicted for interfering with the federal government. But if he didn’t call, and Parsons or whoever he worked for showed up here, it would get so much worse.
“Archer, this isn’t a game. This is your life we’re talking about.” I sighed. “If that means this is it for us, at least we got to be honest with each other.”
“We don’t know anything yet.” He pulled me into his arms, and I practically crawled into his lap, I wanted to be so close. “Let’s try to throw them off my scent. See if we can’t get them to move on. Then maybe all of this won’t have been for nothing.”
“One day. If we can’t figure something out before tomorrow, I’m calling my contacts with the FBI, and I won’t stop until you’re somewhere safe.” I hated the idea of making him leave. Clearly, he loved it here in Jubilee Falls, and everyone I’d talked to about him loved having him here too.
“What are you thinking? How are you going to make it look like I haven’t been in Jubilee for almost a week? It’s not just about credit card receipts and hotel stays. If someone shows up here, the whole town knows your face. How long do you think you can hold out before someone else finds you?”
Archer cupped my chin and tilted my face up to press a soft kiss to my lips.
“Not everyone is as smart as you are, Veronica. How long did it take you to find me?”
“Six days.” I chewed on my lip. “But I didn’t have the head-start they will with me being here.” God, I probably should’ve just left—got the hell out of Jubilee Falls and as far from Archer Janson as possible. Then, maybe, he could’ve stayed here, in this safe, quiet little town. I wrapped my arms around him, leaning into his firm, muscular body.
“What’s this plan of yours?”
“It starts with a really tricky thing.” Archer’s hands slid down my back, to grab my ass. “And it’s going to require you to not be wearing pants.” He tightened his hold on me.
I put my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my palm, wanting nothing more than to get naked and pretend the world wasn’t falling down around us. “Archer, your life could be at stake. Do you really think now’s the best time for that?”
“Showers so we can go out to breakfast and discuss this like a couple of civilized adults? Of course.” He slapped my ass and grinned. “If it just so happens, I get to get you all soapy and wet, that’s just a perk.”
I shook my head and slid my hand between us, cupping him through his shorts. “It certainly feels like you’re up for the occasion.”
Archer scooped me up into his arms, carrying me into his bathroom with a grin.
Letting him strip me out of my clothes was easy. Letting him kiss me and touch me, get me off, all of it was easy. It all felt natural, right.
But I’d tainted it. His wrists still bore the angry red marks of my handcuffs, and no matter how good he made me feel, I couldn’t help but feel the truth broke whatever trust I’d tentatively built with him.
12
ARCHER
The next day, I left Veronica at her hotel before the sun came up.
We’d spent all of Sunday driving around northern Nebraska, closer to Omaha, swiping her credit card in just enough places to make it seem like she was on my trail far from Jubilee.
The entire time, I tried to find the woman I’d spent so many days getting to know. Veronica the P.I. had a hard edge to her, and the longer we drove around, the harder it was to see the woman who came into the library that first day. I was learning she was a lie or just a small piece of the complicated puzzle that was Veronica Neptune. Still, I couldn’t seem to get her out of my head. Even as I got ready and headed to work, I thought about Veronica.
Lynette was already at the front desk when I walked in. She lifted her gaze to me from checking in books. “No Veronica with pa
stries today?” She smiled a little at me, and for the first time, I thought she was a little more relaxed.
“I don’t think she’s coming in today.”
“That’s too bad. Is everything okay? You seem a little down.”
I shrugged and dropped my messenger bag under the desk. “She just had other things to do. Maybe she’ll stop by for lunch. I can see if she wants to go out with you if you miss her this much.”
Lynette laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s obvious she’s crazy about you.” She closed the book in front of her and leaned on the counter toward me. “Daniel, I like Veronica. I think she’s good for you. You smile a lot more since you met her. It doesn’t take a librarian to read this situation. That’s all I’m trying to say.” She pushed the re-shelving cart out from behind the circulation desk. “You’re reading for story time again today, right? Evelyn’s here with her mother already, just hoping to get a story from her favorite tattooed librarian.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
After everything V and I did yesterday, I wondered if her motivations were really true. I had to come back to my life like nothing had changed. But everything had changed. Being in the library felt wrong, but I didn’t know where else to be. And I couldn’t just leave Lynette high and dry.
I just hoped I could trust Veronica, and that all the effort we made yesterday to keep her police contact off my tail wasn’t just a ploy to keep me from calling my handler.
God, I wanted to trust her.
“Mr. Daniel, will you read the unicorn book today?”
I blinked a couple of times, focusing on Evelyn tugging on my shirt sleeve.
“I think we can make time for that. Why don’t you go grab it off the shelf and meet me at the carpet?”
She nodded emphatically, and I headed over to the story time area, taking my spot next to the overflowing basket of books waiting for me. Kids crowded onto the carpet as it got closer to ten, and Evelyn sat right in the front, dead center.
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