“You make it really hard to like you,” she finally said.
He grinned. “That’s okay, honey. I ain’t looking for a dinner date. C’mon, let’s go someplace secure and see what my brother kept squirreled away.”
His hands were frozen, but his heart was lighter than it’d been in months. Finally, a break. Thank God for Miko’s penchant for hiding things. It was oddly comforting to know that even though Miko had changed, some things had remained the same.
Chapter 6
J ane remained silent once they’d climbed into the car. She’d been absolutely certain she’d missed nothing in her investigation, but the second Holden had discovered that hidden manila envelope, everything she’d thought she’d known came into question. Was there more to this case than she’d originally thought? And if so, what did that mean? Who was involved? It hurt her head to think the corruption centered at I.D. was bigger than they could imagine. “How had you known to keep looking?” she asked, breaking the silence. “As far as I could tell, we were staring at an empty building. But you sensed there was something hidden. How?”
Holden shrugged, as if he really didn’t know and his inability to put it into words made him uncomfortable. “I guess it’s the twin thing. Miko and I shared a bond. And I just knew I was missing something. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch, except that it’s at the back of your mind, nagging, whining in your ear.” He stopped as if he hadn’t liked the way his explanation had come out and finished with another shrug, saying, “I don’t know. I just knew.”
“Why would Miko hide something in the pool table?” she asked, mostly to herself. “I have to be honest, the discovery of that envelope opens up a whole other realm of questions that I’m not entirely comfortable with.”
“I can imagine.”
“Oh? Can you?” She didn’t try to hide the bitterness in her voice. Her father was not going to be happy about this newest development. “Obviously he didn’t want anyone to find it. And if he didn’t tell you about it, something in that envelope must be important.”
“My thoughts, too. Which is why we’re not taking it back to the office,” he said, surprising her. He cut her a short look just as she started to protest. “Listen, I don’t know how far or how deep the corruption went with I.D., but I do know that my brother got caught up in something bad. So forgive me if I’m not too trusting right now.”
“Even with your own team?”
“It’s nothing personal, but I can’t afford mistakes. My brother died. Yes, he may have pulled the trigger, but someone else was pulling the strings. You know what I mean?”
“That’s one theory,” she reminded him, not quite on board yet that Miko hadn’t been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, including his brother’s. “The other theory is that Miko had plenty to hide because he was doing things he knew were wrong.”
“Miko was the soldier, more so than I ever was. He believed in doing the right thing and standing up for the little guy who couldn’t stand up for himself. He had integrity, grit, a singular sense of justice,” Holden said, holding his ground, obviously determined to defend his brother to anyone and everyone. “And I refuse to believe that in one year’s time he became the polar opposite of everything he ever held true.”
“People change,” she said, trying to soften the harsh truth. “And sometimes we don’t even know what happened.”
“I’m going to find who’s pulling the strings. I don’t care how long it takes or what it costs me. And when I find him or her...I want to put that person into the ground.”
She suppressed a shudder at the menace in Holden’s voice. A part of her wanted to remind him this was the reason he hadn’t been allowed to investigate the case in the first place. Emotional attachments muddied a person’s ability to think rationally. But there was another part
He grinned. “That’s okay, honey. I ain’t looking for a dinner date. C’mon, let’s go someplace secure and see what my brother kept squirreled away.”
His hands were frozen, but his heart was lighter than it’d been in months. Finally, a break. Thank God for Miko’s penchant for hiding things. It was oddly comforting to know that even though Miko had changed, some things had remained the same.
Chapter 6
J ane remained silent once they’d climbed into the car. She’d been absolutely certain she’d missed nothing in her investigation, but the second Holden had discovered that hidden manila envelope, everything she’d thought she’d known came into question. Was there more to this case than she’d originally thought? And if so, what did that mean? Who was involved? It hurt her head to think the corruption centered at I.D. was bigger than they could imagine. “How had you known to keep looking?” she asked, breaking the silence. “As far as I could tell, we were staring at an empty building. But you sensed there was something hidden. How?”
Holden shrugged, as if he really didn’t know and his inability to put it into words made him uncomfortable. “I guess it’s the twin thing. Miko and I shared a bond. And I just knew I was missing something. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch, except that it’s at the back of your mind, nagging, whining in your ear.” He stopped as if he hadn’t liked the way his explanation had come out and finished with another shrug, saying, “I don’t know. I just knew.”
“Why would Miko hide something in the pool table?” she asked, mostly to herself. “I have to be honest, the discovery of that envelope opens up a whole other realm of questions that I’m not entirely comfortable with.”
“I can imagine.”
“Oh? Can you?” She didn’t try to hide the bitterness in her voice. Her father was not going to be happy about this newest development. “Obviously he didn’t want anyone to find it. And if he didn’t tell you about it, something in that envelope must be important.”
“My thoughts, too. Which is why we’re not taking it back to the office,” he said, surprising her. He cut her a short look just as she started to protest. “Listen, I don’t know how far or how deep the corruption went with I.D., but I do know that my brother got caught up in something bad. So forgive me if I’m not too trusting right now.”
“Even with your own team?”
“It’s nothing personal, but I can’t afford mistakes. My brother died. Yes, he may have pulled the trigger, but someone else was pulling the strings. You know what I mean?”
“That’s one theory,” she reminded him, not quite on board yet that Miko hadn’t been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, including his brother’s. “The other theory is that Miko had plenty to hide because he was doing things he knew were wrong.”
“Miko was the soldier, more so than I ever was. He believed in doing the right thing and standing up for the little guy who couldn’t stand up for himself. He had integrity, grit, a singular sense of justice,” Holden said, holding his ground, obviously determined to defend his brother to anyone and everyone. “And I refuse to believe that in one year’s time he became the polar opposite of everything he ever held true.”
“People change,” she said, trying to soften the harsh truth. “And sometimes we don’t even know what happened.”
“I’m going to find who’s pulling the strings. I don’t care how long it takes or what it costs me. And when I find him or her...I want to put that person into the ground.”
She suppressed a shudder at the menace in Holden’s voice. A part of her wanted to remind him this was the reason he hadn’t been allowed to investigate the case in the first place. Emotional attachments muddied a person’s ability to think rationally. But there was another part
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