Too Far Gone by Debra Webb, Regan Black Page A

client and as his roommate—
separate
rooms, in case you’re wondering.” She got up and carried her plate to the sink.
    Mike couldn’t imagine a relationship riddled with infidelity. He detested emotional games and liars even more. Why did anyone put up with that? A woman with Lauren’s fire, beauty, and talent should’ve left at the first sign of trouble. But she’d stayed. For the sake of her career. And separate rooms? Jesus, Hollywood was twisted. “What happened to her?”
    “Who?” Lauren asked, leaning back against the counter as she dried her hands on the towel.
    “The first woman you caught him with.” Mike wished like hell the man was still alive so he could beat him senseless.
    “I don’t know. I’ve made it a point
not
to think about that, but my guess is he either chose not to represent her or she never made the cut with any studio.”
    “But you have that memory for faces and detail,” he said, with complete sincerity. “Would you recognize her again if you saw her?”
    Lauren caught her full lower lip between her teeth. “Probably.”
    His instincts were sparking. This was bigger than Lauren getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time by a pair of lethal men. “So, the fact is, she didn’t make it big or you would have run into her somewhere.”
    She nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”
    “How many clients did Trinity represent?”
    “It varied from year to year. He was the agent everyone wanted. His ability to identify and match talent with the right roles was unprecedented. Why?”
    “Just thinking.” About the dead talent agent and the mysterious witness who apparently contradicted Lauren’s statement. “Did Trinity ever travel out of the country?”
    “Once or twice a year, but I didn’t go with him.”
    “Because?” He’d bet good money Trinity made his travel plans to purposely exclude her.
    She made a small production of replacing the hand towel on the rack. “The dates conflicted with my schedule on
Harper Cove
.”
    “So your relationship with Trinity really was just for show.” It wasn’t a question. The answer was clear to him now. For whatever reason, Trinity had liked or needed the image of stability with Lauren. Was she part of his cover?
    “Maybe not at first, but in recent years, yes.” The admission cost her. The pain in her eyes gave away just how much.
    He almost wished he could take back the question. But if her feelings were the only thing that got hurt before they figured this out, he would be damned happy about it. The idea that she’d gotten out of that building alive still stunned him.
    Assuming the killers had watched her and tailed her from the crime scene to the police station and then to her motel, why not just kill her? They obviously wanted her dead and there would’ve been ample opportunities before she’d reached the motel and after. Instead, they’d staged the crime scene to implicate her and then wired a bomb into her car. Why the extra step?
    “What’s going through your head?” she asked, returning to the island and her chair.
    Too many things, but only one of them he was ready to share. “We need to determine if the police on this case can be trusted.”
    Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I’d very much like the answer to that question.”
    He wasn’t sure she fully understood the danger involved in making that happen. “It may not work at all,” he warned.
    “If there’s any chance, I want to try,” she replied.
    His job was to protect her. End of story. But if Claudia confirmed his worst suspicions, Lauren would never be safe unless the men who’d murdered Trinity were behind bars. “We’ll set up a meet for first thing tomorrow. Until then, relax and try to get some rest.”
    To his surprise, she didn’t argue. He didn’t know her industry as well as she did, but he knew human nature. Her ex was into something serious and Mike wanted to know if it had started before or after Lauren had come to