Exploited
Page 69
Toxicwrath wanted me to shut this down. Thought I was in too deep.
I thought about that moment when I had suspected my shadow partner of being my ex-roommate.
The possibility had seemed so real.
He had alleviated my concerns, hadn’t he?
“It means so much to me that you asked me to come with you to see your sister,” Mason said, his voice breaking slightly.
I looked up at him in the dark. His eyes were bright. Wet. “It means a lot to me that you want to come.”
He let out a shuddering breath but didn’t say anything else. I knew he was thinking of his brother. I gave him the room to grieve all over again.
I thought about what I had planned today. How I would go to Mason’s office and I would infiltrate his computer. Violate his trust even further.
I shivered.
Knowing what I was going to do didn’t fill me with excitement. It didn’t leave me satisfied with my own cunning.
I felt vile. Disgusting. Reprehensible.
I held him tightly against me, filling him with my dishonest love.
He was sleeping with a ghost, and neither of us knew if I was real.
He hoped that I was. He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake. That his feelings for me were well placed.
I was terrified that the longer he held on, the harder it would be for me to disappear.
That he wouldn’t let me.
Why did that make me happy?
Was Toxicwrath right?
“I have to head back to my place and feed Tigger and get changed before work.” Mason continued to hold me, neither of us moving. He kissed my hair again, letting his mouth linger. “But I think I’ll stay like this for a little while longer, if that’s all right,” he whispered.
I nodded, my throat too tight, my heart too full. And we listened to each other breathe in the dark, wishing for things that could never be.
I didn’t realize until the tears had dried on my skin that I had been crying.
Chapter 22
Hannah
I was nervous. Worse than nervous. I was a quivering mess. I stood out front of the large redbrick building housing the Richmond FBI field office and tried to make myself go inside. The building was imposing and more than a little intimidating, which didn’t help.
I clutched my car keys in my hand, the sharp edges biting into my palm. The tiny thumb drive sat snugly on the silver unicorn key chain. Unobtrusive. Unnoticeable.
Mason was expecting me. I had to go inside.
Toxicwrath’s words from earlier rang through my head.
Shut it down.
I couldn’t. I had come too far. I needed to be able to track my case. I couldn’t risk getting caught.
I had to know if Mason was closing in.
Even if it meant betraying him.
My chest hurt at the thought.
It came down to what was more important.
My freedom or my heart.
I thought about Charlotte and knew that getting caught wasn’t an option.
But neither was hurting Mason.
I was screwed no matter what I did.
Unless he never finds out.
Could I live with lying to him every day? Could I really think about building a future with a man I couldn’t be honest with?
My whole life is a web of lies. What’s one more added to the pile?
I felt as if I were living on borrowed time. I knew I couldn’t keep up the act indefinitely. Pretending to be the loving girlfriend was harder than it looked.
But I wasn’t exactly pretending anymore, was I?
“Are you looking for something?”
I startled, gripping my keys so tightly that they broke flesh. I glanced over at a thin man with a balding patch on the top of his head and a smarmy smile.
“This is the FBI field office, right?”
The man nodded. “You’re in the right place. Come on, let me show you the way.” He held the door open for me and I walked through, knowing full well he was staring at my ass the whole time.
“You’ll need to sign in and show identification over there,” the man said, pointing to the visitors desk. He followed me, standing a little too close.
“I think I can handle it from here,” I told him, trying to smile. I didn’t need a hanger-on when I was trying to focus myself.
“It’s no problem. I just want to make sure you don’t get lost.” His hand came to rest on my lower back and I quickly moved away.
“Please don’t touch me,” I said quietly but forcefully.
The man chuckled and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Sure thing.” We stopped at the visitors desk and the man turned his questionable charm on the older woman behind the table.
“Hi, Chaz. How are you?” the woman asked.
Chaz? What kind of name was Chaz?
“I’m great, Shirley. Ran three miles before work. Gotta get the cardio in.” Chaz looked at me and I wanted to roll my eyes. He was so obvious, it was pathetic.
“How’s Marla? You two should come over for dinner again sometime soon.” I looked down at Chaz’s right hand and saw a gold wedding band. What a creep.
Chaz pursed his mouth, obviously not appreciating the mention of his wife in front of the woman he was trying to impress. “Yes, well, maybe.” He cleared his throat, shooting me another look. “Anyway, I wanted to help this lovely lady find where she’s going. This is—”
“Hannah. Hannah Whelan.” I produced my driver’s license and handed it over. “I’m here to see Mason Kohler.”
The man beside me stiffened. Interesting.
“Here’s your visitor’s badge. Now just sign here.” Shirley handed me a pen.
“You’re here to see Agent Kohler?” the man asked. “What for?”
His demeanor had cooled considerably. It was more than obvious he didn’t like Mason.
I leaned in close while Shirley made a copy of my driver’s license. “I’m the woman who’s fucking him,” I said demurely, batting my eyelashes.
Chaz’s face went red. “Well, I’m sure you can find your own way, then.” He turned on his heel and walked off without another word. Thank God.
“Agent Kohler is on the third floor. The elevators are in the corridor and you need to go through security over there.” Shirley pointed toward the metal detectors.
“Thank you,” I said and headed toward the two armed men. I put my bag and my keys in the plastic bin and walked through the metal detector without issue. I chewed on my bottom lip, watching as they searched my stuff. One of the security guards picked up my keys and examined them. He poked at the unicorn keychain and I thought I was going to vomit all over the floor.
I thought about that moment when I had suspected my shadow partner of being my ex-roommate.
The possibility had seemed so real.
He had alleviated my concerns, hadn’t he?
“It means so much to me that you asked me to come with you to see your sister,” Mason said, his voice breaking slightly.
I looked up at him in the dark. His eyes were bright. Wet. “It means a lot to me that you want to come.”
He let out a shuddering breath but didn’t say anything else. I knew he was thinking of his brother. I gave him the room to grieve all over again.
I thought about what I had planned today. How I would go to Mason’s office and I would infiltrate his computer. Violate his trust even further.
I shivered.
Knowing what I was going to do didn’t fill me with excitement. It didn’t leave me satisfied with my own cunning.
I felt vile. Disgusting. Reprehensible.
I held him tightly against me, filling him with my dishonest love.
He was sleeping with a ghost, and neither of us knew if I was real.
He hoped that I was. He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake. That his feelings for me were well placed.
I was terrified that the longer he held on, the harder it would be for me to disappear.
That he wouldn’t let me.
Why did that make me happy?
Was Toxicwrath right?
“I have to head back to my place and feed Tigger and get changed before work.” Mason continued to hold me, neither of us moving. He kissed my hair again, letting his mouth linger. “But I think I’ll stay like this for a little while longer, if that’s all right,” he whispered.
I nodded, my throat too tight, my heart too full. And we listened to each other breathe in the dark, wishing for things that could never be.
I didn’t realize until the tears had dried on my skin that I had been crying.
Chapter 22
Hannah
I was nervous. Worse than nervous. I was a quivering mess. I stood out front of the large redbrick building housing the Richmond FBI field office and tried to make myself go inside. The building was imposing and more than a little intimidating, which didn’t help.
I clutched my car keys in my hand, the sharp edges biting into my palm. The tiny thumb drive sat snugly on the silver unicorn key chain. Unobtrusive. Unnoticeable.
Mason was expecting me. I had to go inside.
Toxicwrath’s words from earlier rang through my head.
Shut it down.
I couldn’t. I had come too far. I needed to be able to track my case. I couldn’t risk getting caught.
I had to know if Mason was closing in.
Even if it meant betraying him.
My chest hurt at the thought.
It came down to what was more important.
My freedom or my heart.
I thought about Charlotte and knew that getting caught wasn’t an option.
But neither was hurting Mason.
I was screwed no matter what I did.
Unless he never finds out.
Could I live with lying to him every day? Could I really think about building a future with a man I couldn’t be honest with?
My whole life is a web of lies. What’s one more added to the pile?
I felt as if I were living on borrowed time. I knew I couldn’t keep up the act indefinitely. Pretending to be the loving girlfriend was harder than it looked.
But I wasn’t exactly pretending anymore, was I?
“Are you looking for something?”
I startled, gripping my keys so tightly that they broke flesh. I glanced over at a thin man with a balding patch on the top of his head and a smarmy smile.
“This is the FBI field office, right?”
The man nodded. “You’re in the right place. Come on, let me show you the way.” He held the door open for me and I walked through, knowing full well he was staring at my ass the whole time.
“You’ll need to sign in and show identification over there,” the man said, pointing to the visitors desk. He followed me, standing a little too close.
“I think I can handle it from here,” I told him, trying to smile. I didn’t need a hanger-on when I was trying to focus myself.
“It’s no problem. I just want to make sure you don’t get lost.” His hand came to rest on my lower back and I quickly moved away.
“Please don’t touch me,” I said quietly but forcefully.
The man chuckled and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Sure thing.” We stopped at the visitors desk and the man turned his questionable charm on the older woman behind the table.
“Hi, Chaz. How are you?” the woman asked.
Chaz? What kind of name was Chaz?
“I’m great, Shirley. Ran three miles before work. Gotta get the cardio in.” Chaz looked at me and I wanted to roll my eyes. He was so obvious, it was pathetic.
“How’s Marla? You two should come over for dinner again sometime soon.” I looked down at Chaz’s right hand and saw a gold wedding band. What a creep.
Chaz pursed his mouth, obviously not appreciating the mention of his wife in front of the woman he was trying to impress. “Yes, well, maybe.” He cleared his throat, shooting me another look. “Anyway, I wanted to help this lovely lady find where she’s going. This is—”
“Hannah. Hannah Whelan.” I produced my driver’s license and handed it over. “I’m here to see Mason Kohler.”
The man beside me stiffened. Interesting.
“Here’s your visitor’s badge. Now just sign here.” Shirley handed me a pen.
“You’re here to see Agent Kohler?” the man asked. “What for?”
His demeanor had cooled considerably. It was more than obvious he didn’t like Mason.
I leaned in close while Shirley made a copy of my driver’s license. “I’m the woman who’s fucking him,” I said demurely, batting my eyelashes.
Chaz’s face went red. “Well, I’m sure you can find your own way, then.” He turned on his heel and walked off without another word. Thank God.
“Agent Kohler is on the third floor. The elevators are in the corridor and you need to go through security over there.” Shirley pointed toward the metal detectors.
“Thank you,” I said and headed toward the two armed men. I put my bag and my keys in the plastic bin and walked through the metal detector without issue. I chewed on my bottom lip, watching as they searched my stuff. One of the security guards picked up my keys and examined them. He poked at the unicorn keychain and I thought I was going to vomit all over the floor.
