Undercover Engagement (Private Pleasures 5)

Her eyes watered. Her nose ran. “He cheated on me. He was probably cheating on me the whole time.”

“Mija, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You saw him?”

“Yes. Okay, no. Not like you saw your ex with your cousin, but close enough.”

“What happened, exactly?”

Keeping names and other identifying details out of it, she ran through the whole sorry situation.

Alvarez shook her head. “There could be another explanation. You haven’t talked to him about it yet.”

A keen sense of betrayal sliced through her. “Of all the people I could have confided in, Alvarez, I thought you’d take my side. You’ve been where I am. How can you say that to me?”

“Because Swain is not my worthless, cousin-fucking ex.”

“I don’t know that. You don’t know that. Going by the evidence, he’s the kind of worthless ex who fucks a nineteen-year-old administrative assistant employed by the county.” She wasn’t a trained investigator for nothing. It hadn’t taken more than a couple hours to figure out the blonde’s identity. Somehow, knowing made it worse. This girl wasn’t a random hookup. She worked for the county, as did he. Their relationship could have started before she’d even arrived in Bluelick. It could have continued after she’d come on the scene. They hadn’t spent every second together. Worse than knowing he might have been seeing the woman all along was the knowledge that the relationship might continue. It might have legs, and it could walk around right in front of her if she remained in Bluelick. She might see them curled around each other at Rawley’s or witness them sharing dinner at DeShay’s. And if she kept thinking about it, she’d throw up again. “I made a colossal mistake. We never got along at the academy. I should have remembered that.”

“He liked you just fine. You never got along with him. You distrusted how easy all the classwork came to him.”

Very true. She had. Of course, now she knew why it had been so easy for him to think like a criminal. He’d spent his formative years raised by a criminal, living a criminal life. And that hadn’t been easy at all. He’d learned those lessons a very hard way, and they still haunted him. But had they warped him? Had they crippled his ability to forge an honest relationship? Everything she’d learned today suggested they had…at least when it came to her. “I was right to distrust him.”

“Are you certain, Eden? I don’t know Swain all that well, but I’ve thought about Taser Day a lot since we talked and guess what I’ve figured out.”

“I can’t guess. I’m wasted. Just tell me.”

“He traded names with me because he didn’t want to hurt you. If he took such pains not to hurt you way back then, when you two barely spoke to each other, why would he hurt you now?

“I don’t know,” she admitted, and choked back a sob. “All I know is he did. He hurt me badly. At least if he’d Tased me, I would have seen it coming. I never saw this coming.”

Alvarez poured the dregs of the pitcher into Eden’s glass. “I’m sorry, Mija. I’m not saying Swain did it, but I do understand what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you trusted. It sucks.”

Eden gulped down the last of the watered-down margarita. “It does.”

“You’re in love with him?” Alvarez asked the question gently.

Eden let her head fall back against the sofa and closed her eyes. The room took an unpleasant spin. “I’ll get over it.”

“Does he know?”

“Uh-uh.” After attempting an ill-advised head shake to go with the reply, she opened her eyes and focused on her friend. “At least there’s that. One shred of dignity I can hang on to. Swain doesn’t know he broke my heart.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Technically, she had the day off, but Eden rounded the front desk of the Bluelick PD at nine in the morning, waved at the officer on duty, and made her way down the hall to the holding cells. As she prepared to go through the security door, it swung open. A tall, startlingly handsome man in a blue and tan checked button down and light tan dress pants stood there, facing the cells, saying, “I’ll see you guys at the courthouse this afternoon. Take it easy.”

“Thanks Roger.” Kenny and Dobie’s voices chorused from beyond the door. The man turned, holding a leather briefcase in his other hand, and dazzling blue eyes widened in surprise.

“Beg your pardon, miss…um…” He paused, obviously weighing the probabilities… “Officer?”

“Officer Brixton,” she confirmed and held out a hand. “Eden Brixton.”

His smile dazzled even more than his summer sky eyes. The hand that clasped hers was firm and warm. “Roger Reynolds. Attorney at Law. I’m here to help these fellows out of this mess they’ve landed themselves in.”

“I’m sure they’re in very good hands. I don’t want to interrupt.”