How long had Nathan been working for the business?Was I part of the tabs they were keeping? Or did I just happen to be there when they took the photo?
I flip to the next thing, and this one is a report on his death. I read it carefully, but it’s not what I thought it’d be. I assumed it would recount everything I’d been told, but this . . . this is a report from the fucking Department of Treasury, and it’s not stating the same things that I was told by the police when they came to tell me he died and how it happened.
According to the report, they don’t believe it was an accident. When I read that they think he was murdered by someone he worked for, that paper nearly drops from my hand.
The Department of Treasury was keeping tabs on my husband?Myhusband? Why?
The bathroom door opens, and I nearly jump out of my skin. I hadn’t even heard the shower turn off nor Nix moving around. As soon as he steps out in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, our eyes clash. Confusion takes over his features as he gazes upon mine, and then he looks at what’s in my hand.
“What are you doing?” he asks with caution.
I point to the folder. “I found it under your bed, but –”
“You opened it?” he demands.
“Yes,” I hiss. “And I’m glad I did. What the fuck is going on, Nix?”
He scowls and squats before me. Carefully, he takes the paper from my hand, and his face relaxes in understanding. “I can explain,” he murmurs.
“You better. Why do you have papers on Nathan from the Department of Treasury? Does the business have fingers in a government agency? Is their reach really that far?”
“I don’t know,” he says softly and then brings his gaze up to mine. I find nothing but the truth there.
“Why do you have this information? Why was my husband being looked at by them? And no fucking lies.”
He scrubs at the wet hair at the nape of his neck. “Noll gave it to me.”
“Noll? Your best friend?” I ask incredulously. He nods, and I press on with determination in my tone. “Does he work for the government?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he mutters, “Yes.”
“Jesus-fucking-Christ,” I hiss. “And he’s trading stuff with you? A man within the business? About my husband?”
“Calm down,” he says, dropping his hand to his knee.
“No! I have so many questions, Nix, because none of this makes sense. I want answers, and I want them now!”
He stands up at the same time I do and sighs deeply as I cross my arms over my chest, firmly standing my ground. “We don’t trade information so I can use it to exploit anyone.”
“Then what do you use it for?”
“I haven’t received any information in a long time, Charlie.”
My eyebrows pinch together angrily. “What are you talking about?”
“Miles?”
“What the fuck does he have to do with this?”
“He’s your partner. And Noll?” He pauses as he studies me and then whispers, “He’s mine.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Charlotte Mitchell
My heartbeat stutters then flares to full life and roars in my ears. “What are you talking about?” I ask, disconnected from my body. I take a step back, and the back of my thighs bump into the mattress.
He tips his head back and looks at the ceiling for a second. To the ceiling, he curses. And when he looks back at me, he says, “I didn’t just come into the business looking for Megan. When I was old enough to be employed by the Department of Treasury, I asked to go undercover. I had mounting evidence against the business that fronted as a matchmaker. Noll, who also got into the department with me, was placed as my handler.”
