“She took a huge risk, Simon could have turned her away,” Aaron said. “She must be a very brave woman. You should be proud of her.”
“I think she was scared and desperate, but I am proud of her and I’m thankful for everything she’s given up for me,” he said, relieved that his friends seemed to understand. “My mom changed her name as soon as she could, then she buried her past and acted like it never happened. I’ve only been able to get her to talk about it once. I guess I can’t blame her, it must have been a terrible time in her life, she lost everything she loved and had to start a new life.”
There was another silence around the table while his friends absorbed what he’d told them, and he let it stretch out a little longer this time. “I should have told you the truth when Diego started all that trouble last month, but I didn’t think it mattered,” he said. “We’ve never had anything to do with my grandfather or the rest of the family. This is the first time I’ve met Sebastain. My allegiance is to you, all of you, and the clan.”
“Well, I guess that settles that then,” Walker said, looking around the table. “Are we all in agreement?”
All seven of his friends nodded. “You’re forgiven, but we’re your friends, Taylor. You shouldn’t be afraid to talk to us. We’ll always be here for you,” Jackson said. “Sebastian isn’t going to go away, but you don’t have to fight him on your own. We’re here to help, so lean on us.”
A huge wave of relief washed over him, and he let out a long sigh. “I’m so relieved to hear that. You all are like my family now. I wouldn’t want to mess that up,” he said. :I don’t know what Sebastian is up to, but I’ll gladly take any help I can get.”
“All you have to do is ask,” Gabe said. “We’re a team, we take care of our own.”
There were nods of agreement around the table again, then Malcolm turned to him with a big grin on his face. “Since that’s been settled, let’s move on,” he said. “What’s this we heard about you kissing Emily?”
He gave Aaron a dirty look. “That’s none of your business,” he said. “It was an accident and…”
“An accident,” Jackson interrupted. “How do you accidentally kiss someone?”
“Never mind about that,” Gabe said before he was forced to answer. “What are we going to do about Sebastian? He’s clearly gunning for you, Taylor. You need to watch your back.”
“I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. I just don’t understand why,” he said. “I haven’t tried to contact them. Until now, only a few people know the truth about who I really am. This could have stayed a secret if Sebastain had kept his mouth shut.”
“That’s what worries me the most, he wanted it out there, he wanted to shock us and possibly undermine our relationship, but I don’t think he’s going to stop there,” Jackson said. “There’s more going on here than we’re seeing, and until we figure it out, we all have to be on our guard. If Sebastian wants a fight, we’ll give him one, but it would be nice to know what we’re fighting for.”
He wondered if he should bring up Emily and her snooping. After all, she could be part of the plot, whatever it was, then thought of the look on her face when he kissed her and shoved the idea away. She might be hiding something, but it wasn’t that she was working for the Kappas; he was sure that he would have felt it, would have known she was faking it. That didn’t make him any less determined to find out Emily’s big secret; if she really was the woman for him, he had to know what she was hiding.
***Emily***
Sunday morning Emily sat at her desk, a cold cup of coffee next to her, watching the clock as she searched the internet for the information she wanted, but it was the last thing she wanted to be doing. Taylor had turned everything completely upside down the night before, his kiss had awoken a hunger inside her that she knew only he could satisfy, which angered and infuriated her. Getting involved with the subject of her investigation was a huge mistake, one there was no coming back from. She just didn’t know how things would work out from here when she admitted the truth to Captain Strattler.
Looking up at the clock, she began to tap her foot nervously, dreading the conversation she was going to be forced to have with her boss. It was going to be humiliating to admit that she’d fallen for Taylor, but there was no doubt in her mind that’s what was happening. But even worse, after a sleepless night, she realized that she might not be willing togive him up, even if it meant losing her job, and that made her even angrier.
Feeling a little panicky, she jumped to her feet, planning to refill her cup, but her phone began to chirp, and she froze, her heart starting to pound. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she picked up the phone, wished herself luck, and then connected the call.
“Hi, Captain Strattler,” she said, hoping he couldn’t tell how nervous she was. “Thanks for calling me on Sunday morning.”
“This better be good, Torres; if my wife catches me, there will be hell to pay,” he grumbled. “What have you got?”
“Well, that’s the thing, I have made some progress, but before I fill you in, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said, then paused to get her courage up. “Sir, the thing is, I might have…Well, I did…I mean, I’ve developed feelings for Taylor. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I fought it as hard as I could…but well, I’ve compromised the investigation, and I feel terrible about it. I don’t know where we go from here, but I’ll be happy…”
“Are you telling me that you’re romantically involved with our source?” Captain Strattler interrupted. “And you think that’s messed up the investigation?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, her heart sinking at the tone of his voice. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll step down right now. You can find someone else to take over. I don’t know how I’ll pay my tuition, but I’ll find a way.”
“Torres, slow down, you’re getting ahead of me,” he interrupted again. “There’s no reason you can’t stay on the case, just stick to your cover and everything will be fine. In fact, this might work in our favor.”
“But I can’t…I don’t want to lie to him anymore, that’s not…well, a good way to start a relationship,” she stammered. “I think it would be better if you took me off the case.”
There was a brief silence. “Emily, let me explain something to you,” Captain Strattler said. “Even if I take you off the case, you can’t tell Taylor the truth, he can’t know that we’ve got someone watching the fraternity. I’m sorry, I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but at this point we’re too far in for you to back out, you’ll have to follow this through and hope that he understands when it’s all over.”
She hadn’t been prepared for that answer. “Oh, I thought…that is…I assumed you could reassign me,” she said, but she was beginning to see that he was right and let out a sigh. “But I still couldn’t tell him the truth, I would just have to watch while someone else did the job I was assigned.”
“That was my point,” Captain Strattler said, then paused. “I know this isn’t easy, Torres, but it happens to the best of us; sometimes it’s impossible to avoid. If you want my advice, bury what you’re feeling, tuck it away until this is finished and you’re free to explore it; otherwise, it might blow up in your face.”
“Gee, thanks, boss,” she said. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “Now tell me what else you’ve got, you said you found a name.”
