Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2) Read Online Free Page B

picked up the snow globe on his desk and shook it. Apparently, he bought it for his fourteen-year-old daughter last Christmas, but she didn’t want it. Somehow, it found a permanent home on his desk, collecting dust. Part of me wanted to look him in the eye and come clean about everything, and apologize for being distracted by a stupid, meaningless kiss, but I knew a confession would only prolong this interrogation. I didn’t want to spend any more time in Miles’s company than absolutely necessary. He knew how to manipulate me and make me want stupid things—like him.
    “I managed to get the thumb drive from Knox Black, but then Lang walked in the office. Knox diverted my attention and stole the thumb drive from me.”
    He stood up, closed the distance between us, and chucked me under the chin with two fingers. “And you just let him take it? That doesn’t sound like you. What am I missing here?”
    My pulse racing, I smacked his hand away from my face. “Nothing. Your plan was flawed. I needed to upload the virus before Knox Black got to the computer. There were too many people at the party. I couldn’t do anything to stop him, and he knew it. He didn’t take me seriously.”
    He pursed his lips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    I pushed away from the desk and smoothed the folds of my skirt. “Nothing. I need to take off. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”
    “We need to destroy the information from Lang’s computer. Conceding is not an option.” Looking down, he rubbed his temples. “My client will go nuclear if we fail.”
    My brows pinched together. “Nobody likes failure, but sometimes it happens. We need a contingency plan for what to do next.”
    “There is no next. We need to stop that motherfucker before he ruins everything,” he growled heatedly.
    “I don’t get it. Why does the client want to get rid of those files, anyway? What’s so important about them?”
    He yanked on his already loosened tie and glanced to the side. “I don’t know exactly, and I don’t care. Those were his instructions, and he’s not someone to fuck with. He’ll stick a knife in my throat before I finish explaining why we failed. He’s not like the other people I’ve worked for. He’s ruthless, Trinity, and I don’t say that lightly. I’ve worked with some bad people in my life, but he’s in a league of his own.” He blew out a breath. “That’s all I’m going to say about it. You don’t need to know anything else.”
    A tremor zipped down my spine and my muscles stiffened. I inhaled through my nose and rolled back my shoulders. Probing him for information he didn’t want to share was a waste of energy, and a small part of me didn’t want to know anything else. “I’ll see what I can do. See you tomorrow.”
    “Wait. Do you want to stay for dinner?” He tugged on the end of my ponytail, an expectant smile on his face. “I ordered Chinese. Your favorite. It should be here any minute.”
    I focused on the black and white landscape photos hanging on the wall behind his desk. “I already ate.”
    He stepped closer to me, the front of his pants brushing the side of my thigh. “Don’t make me eat alone. We haven’t spent any quality time together in a while. I miss you.” He lowered his voice, his lips only inches from my ear. “I miss us. We were good together. Don’t you think it’s time we worked this out? Every time we get close, you push me away again.”
    My face flamed with humiliation as memories of what happened between us a week after we broke up taunted me. We’d been working late. In a moment of weakness, he kissed me and one thing led to another. The next day and every day afterward, I rationalized the whole thing as me being lonely and nostalgic for what I thought we had before the truth slapped me across the face. Marrying him and building a life together had been the next step in my life for almost a year, and I didn’t have a contingency plan. Part of me wanted to give in and