After the Lies

Rachel’s eyes never left Nick’s impassive face, and her hands were clutched tightly together in her lap. She still couldn’t believe that he was a cop. And with a sick feeling, she realized that probably everything he had said and done since the moment they met had been a lie. He had lied to her about who he was, what he did for a living, and probably why he was even interested in her. God, she hoped that last part wasn’t true, but something deep down inside told her that it was.

With a feeling of total despair, Rachel was absolutely determined not to speak the first word. She was absolutely determined that he was going to speak first. Because, hopefully by then, she would be able to find her voice.

“If you need proof that Steven is dealing in illegal U.S. documents, Rachel, I have it.” His voice was calm and quiet, and she resented him for that. She resented him for a lot of things, but right at this moment, she resented him most of all for his cool and calm tone of voice.

“As you’ve probably figured out by now, I was on that ship as part of an assignment to try and get information for our case against Steven. I got a good look inside that package you were delivering to Miguel Bautista, and everything in it was false. Everything in it provided a scumbag like Bautista a golden opportunity to cross our borders with little or no problems. And Bautista got everything he needed from your brother-in-law. Nice and easy. Nice and dirty. Nice and illegal. There is your proof, Rachel.”

Those words did it. He had just confirmed her worst fear that he had lied to her about everything. Even about wanting to be with her. Even about wanting to make love to her. Because the only time he could have seen what was in that package was sometime during the night. It could only have been sometime during the night, after they had made love, and she had fallen into an exhausted sleep. And with that realization, something in Rachel snapped. Because now she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had used her. Used her all along. As her temper came to a fever pitch, she jumped from her chair, giving no thought whatsoever that he was an officer of the law.

“You bastard. How can you stand there and tell me this as though you had every right to lie to me and violate my trust? Everything you ever said to me was a lie. How can you stand there and look me in the eye? Who do you think you are, Nicholas Fallen? Who the hell do you think you are?”

A slight twitch at the corner of Nick’s mouth was the only indication that her words had hit their mark.

“I’m a homicide detective with the LAPD. And right at this moment, I can’t afford to worry about how you feel about me violating your trust. We have a murder to solve and that should be what we’re concerned about. You need to remember that the victim was your sister, and that we believe that Steven arranged to have her killed. That’s what’s important now, Rachel. Not us. The issues between us will need to wait until this case is solved.”

Nick had strolled closer to her as he spoke. He had watched her closely as his words penetrated her brain, and for an instant, he thought that maybe he had gotten through to her. But her next words told him otherwise. Actually, her next words told him and those who were listening behind the one-way mirror otherwise.

“But you slept with me!”

Oh shit, Nick thought, because he knew that Ben and Alex were standing on the other side of the mirror.

“You actually took me to bed just so you could get information out of me. You lied to me about how much you wanted me, and I believed you. I believed every word. What a fool I was. I thought that you were special. I even thought that I had fallen in love with you. But you are nothing but a lying son of a bitch. How could you take me to bed and make love to me the way you did and have it all be just a part of your job? How could you do that to me?” Her voice ended on a sob.

“Listen, Rachel.” Nick reached out to touch her arm, but she shrugged off his hand.

“Don’t you dare touch me.”

Nick dropped his hand, but not his eyes. His eyes never wavered from the stricken look on her face. “Taking you to bed was a mistake, Rachel. My mistake. But we both need to put that aside for now and deal with your sister’s case.”