Keston’s head pops up at the familiar sound of his cell phone ringing. For a few seconds, he actually contemplates letting the damn thing go to voice mail, but he knows that shit will only raise suspicions. He lifts his arm from Jordan and rolls over to pick up his phone.
“Hello?”
“What did you find out?”
“Hold on.” He carefully climbs out of bed and heads toward the bathroom. He quietly shuts the door behind him. “Hello.”
“Yes?”
“Everything is cool. She no longer works for the DEA. She quit, so I’m sure her access to her computer has been terminated.”
“And you believe her?”
“There’s no reason for her to lie to me. She trusts me.”
“Just another trick out of your magic box?”
“Something like that.”
“Still. It would have been nice to have a new set of eyes at the DEA office since my nephew fucked up my contact with Agent Baker.”
“Sorry, she’s a dead end. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll keep a close eye on her.”
“That sounds like far beyond the call of duty.” He laughs. “Something tells me that you’ve fallen for her.”
Keston doesn’t answer.
Hector Guzman laughs. “All right, my friend. You can keep an eye on her for as long as you like. And what about that other matter?”
“The Jackal?”
“Yeah. Have you been able to get a lead on Jonathan Banks? Has he come out of retirement?”
“Nah. I don’t think this new Jackal has anything to do with the old man.”
“Humph. That’s a shame. Jonathan was a great employee back in the day. Anyway, if you get anything on this new Jackal, let me know.”
“Will do, Hector.”
“All right. I’ll be in touch.”
Keston disconnects the call and then curses under his breath. He hates this bullshit, playing both sides of the game. He needs to tell Jordan the whole truth before this shit gets out of hand. He opens the bathroom door to go creep back to bed, but he stops short when he sees Jordan standing there with her arms crossed.
“Important phone call?”
“How long have you been standing there?” he asks suspiciously.
“So you’ll keep a close eye on me, huh?”
He reaches for her. “Jordan …”
“Don’t touch me.” She steps back. “Who was that on the phone?”
“Just … work. Please, let’s just go back to sleep, Jordan.”
She shakes her head and steps back again. “You said no one else knew about me at the department, so who was that asking about the Jackal?”
He clamps his mouth shut.
“No more fucking secrets!” Jordan shouts. “All my fucking cards are on the table. Who the hell are you reporting my job status to? Why are they so concerned about my access to the DEA?”
Keston draws in a deep breath and wrestles with what to do.
“Goddamn it, Keston. Don’t tell me all this shit is just a lie. Don’t you fucking dare.”
“It’s not a lie,” he finally says, shaking his head. “I just haven’t told you the whole truth.”
“Which is?”
“I am an FBI agent. An undercover agent. And for the last couple years, my department has been concerned about systematic leaks in a number of federal agencies. In that time, it seems some of the larger cartels were always one step ahead of us on busts, arrests, or even minor investigations. Then we got lucky when I was approached to work for Hector Guzman. So with my director’s approval, I accepted the job. We thought it was the only way for us to find out about other dirty agents.”
“Guzman?” Her eyes widen. “So I was right? You did set me up!”
“No, no,” he says firmly. “That was not me. That had to be someone in your department—the leak I was looking for.”
Jordan cocks her head. “You thought I was the leak.”
Silence.
“I don’t believe this.” She laughs.
“You’re telling me. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with a DEA agent-slash-bank robber.”
Jordan turns and starts pacing around the bedroom. “This is quite a mess.”
“It’s complicated, but we can work this shit out. With you no longer at the DEA and breaking into banks, you and the Jackal will fall off everyone’s radar.” He walks over to her and takes her hands. “We’ll get married, buy a big house, and fill it with lots of babies.”
“And what will I do for my adrenaline fix?”
Keston pulls her close while pressing her hand against his hardening erection. “I don’t know. I have a few ideas.” He kisses her. “Let’s go back to bed.”
She takes a moment to study him. This is it. To trust or not to trust. Her heart and her head battle each other, but in the end she knows Keston is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. She can’t see herself tossing it away like her parents and then living with regret for the next twenty-five years.
“Okay,” she says, allowing him to pull her along. Once she’s snuggled back against him, their hands start to explore each other once again.
“I love you so much, Jordan,” he whispers in between kisses.
“Keston, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, baby. Anything.”
“Can you call me Robyn? I think I prefer it.”
He chuckles as he pulls her close. “Sure, baby. Whatever you like.”