Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Alex stared back at Colt, whose expression was stone-cold serious. And this time, she didn’t laugh. She simply uncrossed her legs, rose back up to her feet, and walked silently over to where she’d left her coat and purse.
“Alex—”
“This was a mistake.” She gathered the items but didn’t bother putting on the coat. Choosing to let it drape over the crook of her elbow instead, she slid the thin strap of her purse up her arm. “I never should have let you talk me into leaving the party.”
“Please. Just . . . hang on a second.”
Alex stopped to look back at him from over her shoulder.
“Goodbye, Colt, or Cole, or whoever it is you’re supposed to be.
And don’t worry. The next time Gordan and I speak, I’ll keep the truth to myself.
” A humorless laugh filled the room with tension as she turned around and headed straight for the door.
“As if I even know what that is, anyway,” she muttered.
“You can’t go anywhere near that man again,” he warned. When she didn’t respond, he added a frustrated, “Dammit, Alex, wait.”
“I’m done waiting, Colt.” She spun back around, shooting him an angry stare.
“And quite frankly, I’m done with you. All you ever do is go for laughs, and it’s always at my expense.
So I’m done being your comedic muse. Just do us both a favor and leave me alone.
Oh, but don’t worry. I’ll be polite enough whenever Avery and your brother are around.
For them . . . not you. But don’t expect anything more, because that’s all you’re gonna get.
And it’s a hell of a lot more than you deserve. ”
Alex turned for the door, her hand trembling slightly as she started to reach for the lock.
“Do not open that door.”
The man’s stern order had her pausing on reflex. She didn’t turn to face him because quite frankly, it would hurt too much to look into his lying eyes.
“Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking you for.”
“You really think five more minutes of listening to you spew the same crap is going to change my mind?
“You don’t have to listen. In fact, I won’t say anything at all. You can see the evidence for yourself and then you can decide.”
Evidence?
Going against the self-preserving urge to bolt, Alex finally brought her gaze back around to his. Her breath hitched, her pulse spiking with a shot of adrenaline and fear when she caught the handsome man’s hardened expression.
“Five minutes,” he repeated.
She gave a jut of her chin and countered with, “I’ll give you two.”
With a dip of his head, Colt walked across the room, vanishing through a doorway to her right.
The next several seconds ticked by so slowly it was enough to make her reconsider the decision to stay. She was about to say screw it when he reappeared with a manilla folder clutched in his hand.
“Here.” He closed the distance between them and held it out for her to take. “Go ahead. See for yourself.”
“See what?” Alex took the folder from him with a huff.
“That Gordan Crawford isn’t the man you’ve been led to believe.” When she tried handing him back the folder, he barked out at her with frustration. “Read the damn file, Alexandria.”
Immediately she found herself in a total state of compliance, hearing this man say her name in that tone. Why? She didn’t know. But she sure as hell didn’t like it.
Alex flipped open the folder’s front cover to discover several glossy photos of Gordan Crawford. Some were grainy, and they were all in black and white. Each image of the man appeared to have been taken of the man without his knowledge from somewhere in the distance.
“Are these—”
“Surveillance images?” Colt nodded. “Keep looking. There’s more.”
Alex slowly moved away from the door. Before she knew it, she was lowering herself back down onto the couch.
“I don’t . . .” She continued scanning the documents inside. “I don’t understand. What am I looking at, exactly?”
“That file contains the most recent intel we have on Crawford’s operation.”
Intel?
The next page she came to was a long list of names. First, middle, and last with dates typed out beside each one. Some were recent, within the last few months. Others were older by two years or more.
“Those are the names of the woman and girls we suspect Crawford’s already sold,” Colt explained. “Their pictures are in there, too.”
Alex found the images he was referring to when she turned to the very next page. All females, each of them different in their own, unique way. Different hair. Eyes. The shapes of their faces. But what struck her the most was the vast range of ages.
So many.
Alex abandoned the haunting images, her stuttering gaze lifting up to his. “What do you mean they were sold? Surely you can’t think Gordan Crawford is actually—”
“A sex-trafficking piece of shit?” Colt shook his head slowly. “I don’t think it, Alex. I know it. And we have a treasure trove of circumstantial evidence to back it up.”
A loud slap echoed around them as she tossed the folder onto the coffee table and stood.
“This is crazy, Coulter. Even for you. Gordan is a world-renowned professional art dealer with over a dozen highly successful auction houses and galleries scattered across the globe. Not to mention, the guy donates literally millions to organizations fighting against the very thing you’re accusing him of.
But I’m supposed to believe he’s into . .
.” She couldn’t even say the words. “And that you’re some sort of government spy? ”
“You don’t have to take my word for it.” He blocked her path to the door and offered what appeared to be a small, leather ID case. “You wanted the truth; there it is. It’s even in black and white and everything.”
Her back teeth crunched together as she did her best to keep her cool. How was it possible to want to slug the jerk and kiss that smart mouth of his at the very same time?
Alex stared down at the sleek, black rectangle, unable to take it from his hand. This was crazy. Coulter Morgan didn’t work for the CIA any more than she was the Queen of England. And Gordan Crawford certainly wasn’t some sort of sex-trafficking freak.
But what if he is? What if you’re wrong about Gordan? What if everything Colt just said is the actual truth?
She took the ID holder and flipped it open. Her lungs froze when she saw what was inside.
On the left half of the holder was a shiny gold badge that both looked and felt official. On the right was a plastic ID card bearing a picture of Colt in its upper left corner. The words Central Intelligence Agency were in bold print above his stoic image.
It’s not possible. This can’t be real.
And yet—
Below the picture, Alex found a nine-digit employee identification number. To the right of that was what she assumed to be the agency’s official emblem. At the bottom of the ID was a horizontal barcode, and above that was Colt’s supposed status: Active CIA Field Agent.
“I’m not an idiot, Colt.” She tried handing him back the damn thing. “I know full-well the CIA doesn’t operate on U.S. soil.”
“Yeah, that’s what I always thought, too.
” He shrugged, purposely letting his sarcasm fly.
“Of course, we all know the United States government would never lie to us, right? I mean, all those stories about shadow agencies and government-sanctioned hits . . . those are all just whack-job conspiracies, right? No way any of it could be true.”
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play here but whatever it is, this can’t be real.”
You know it is. You just don’t want to admit it.
“Sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but this is about as real as it gets.”
The term of endearment barely registered because she was too busy fighting the truth of what she’d just seen. The ID and badge both appeared to be legit, but in what universe was her sister’s brother-in-law a secret government spy?
With a blink, she tore her gaze away, bringing it back to the abandoned folder she’d left on the coffee table a few feet away.
“Unfortunately, that’s all real, too,” Colt rumbled. “The pictures, the names . . . a living nightmare for those women and girls, and their families. There’s more if you care to listen.”
Did she care to listen?
“No.” Alex gave a vehement shake of her head. “I don’t want to listen to more because none of this is true.”
She wasn’t sure what kept her from accepting what were clearly the facts. But her denial was strong and unyielding despite his having laid it all right out there for her to see.
“You honestly think I would lie to you about something like this?”
“Why not? According to your own words, you’ve been lying to me and everyone else for years about what you do for a living. Yet you want me to trust you now?” She slapped the leather holder against his chest. “I can’t believe a single thing that comes from your mouth.”
His hand covered hers, the warm, slightly rough touch causing even more confusion than before. When Alex ripped her hand free, Colt’s expression grew harder.
“I never told anyone the truth about my job because I was trying to keep you all safe. You, Garrett, our dad . . . your sister . . .” He shrugged off his tuxedo jacket and threw it onto the back of the nearby chair.
“What I do is dangerous.” Colt began rolling up his stark white sleeves.
“So from the start, I chose to keep my involvement with the agency a secret. But then tonight, you showed up right in the middle of my op, so I had no choice but to—”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Alex’s’ mocking tone filled the tense air. “I guess the next time I’m invited to a top-tier gallery by one of the world’s richest men, I should check with the CIA first to make sure my presence at his private party is allowed.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No?”
“No.” He took a broad step toward her. “I’m trying to explain why I’m telling you the truth about everything now. Why I’m coming clean with you tonight of all nights.”
“The truth.” She crossed her arms at her chest and sighed. “I’m pretty sure you don’t know the meaning of the word.”