- "Yes. But I got busy at the office, so I got used to reading spreadsheets and reports," he replied nonchalantly.- "Are you using your time with me to take a vacation?"Deep down, Blair was pleased by the confirmation of that question. Knowing that Ethan had her as his comfort zone was hopeful. Because in the end, even if they couldn't be together, she would always have in mind that she had been good to him.- "You make me feel at peace," he finally replied, and the sparkle that appeared in the woman's eyes made up for half of his life.Ethan could see his relationship with Blair as an analogy. She was the angel sent to save him from his demons. He was a soul with no hope of redemption. And when their lives met, it was like the union of heaven and earth. The sinner struggling to earn grace, and an angel trying not to lose himself while saving someone else. But that was a thought he would never share.- "Read it to me," Blair asked.- "Don't exaggerate," Ethan replied with a sarcasti
- "No. He's good at hiding the evidence."- "Anyway, I don't think I'm the ideal person to find the evidence you want."Hearing those words, Spencer narrowed his eyes. He didn't want to believe that Blair was on the other side of the game, but he was beginning to suspect that she was more involved than she would admit. The man thought about saying something, but the door to his office opened before he could.- "Spencer, I..." Susan began, but stopped when she saw the redhead.- "We have an illustrious visitor," she said ironically, and then walked to the inspector's desk, leaving a folder on it.Susan turned to Blair and analyzed the redhead's sad posture. She couldn't say what was going on, but she had some suspicions. Susan turned to Spencer and began to say what she thought about the situation, because she knew her word had credibility:- "I see you have faith, Spencer. But don't be fooled by cellar rats who pretend to be on your side."- "Susan!" the inspector scolded.- "I know y
- "I begged them to take me off the case, but I was the closest person to what happened. So I stepped up and did everything I could to end the ordeal. I even investigated the stores Mrs. Banks frequented," Spencer said melancholy, looking ahead as if he were reliving the moment.- "Why are you telling me this?" Blair gathered the strength to ask.- "Because you're not the first infiltrator. You're the third in five years. The others..." the older man didn't need to continue.Colton was surprised, feeling betrayed by the most honest person he had ever met. He didn't know half of that information, but he knew there was more that Spencer wouldn't reveal.- "Ethan Banks discovered the disguise before he even invited them to dinner," the inspector muttered.Spencer wasn't proud, much less remorseful. He was just a man telling the truth about his past. It wasn't about the investigation, his brother's death, or his duty to the state; it was about a friend revealing a part of himself before i
Alex, in turn, was efficient in opening his jacket and taking an envelope from the inside pocket. He placed it on his boss's desk, then began to speak:- "Since you were approached in the elevator, I've been thinking about possible connections between you and Volkov."- "And what did you discover?" Ethan asked, never showing emotion in his tone of voice.- "Before moving to Las Vegas, Blair Collins worked as an assistant to Inspector Valardes in the New York Police Department"Banks tore the seal off the envelope and opened it. By now his patience was at an end, not that he had much left after Carter. Ethan pulled out a few photographs, all of them of Blair. Blair at lunch with her old boss. Blair at the police department. Other pictures were of Blair on Malibu Island, in Ethan's office.- "That's not in her records," he rambled.- "It was purposely deleted"And as Ethan analyzed the photos one by one, he didn't even wonder how Alex had access to them. Because sometimes, not knowing w
- "Does this conversation have a purpose? Because I am, in fact, hurt by my lying girlfriend. But we can talk about it over dinner, without an intermediary" he was sarcastic in his speech. And if it wasn't Ethan speaking, anyone could swear that his tone was playful.- "You know what I'm trying to do, Banks. We don't have to let this story get out of here."From a distance, Colton watched his boss and Banks talk. He couldn't hear, as he wasn't close enough, but he could see Ethan's expression, or lack thereof. The agent wasn't happy with this conversation. He was politically correct, and he liked to do things the way they were supposed to be done. This meeting in an abandoned warehouse, with no signs of security, didn't meet his standards.- "Don't worry, Spencer. You still don't have my attention," Ethan assured.- "What does that mean?"- "That I will not take your mistake into consideration"None of the men in that shed would be able to tell if Ethan was telling the truth or not. H
- "Hello, Carter. It's good to see you," Jean replied, but Blair remained silent. Not because she wasn't nice, but because she didn't know what to expect from that conversation.- "Ethan has been out of the country for the past few days," Carter commented nonchalantly, but the redhead knew he was trying to say as much as he could in front of Jean.- "I understand," she said.- "But he's back today, and I think he wants to talk to you," he prompted.Blair wasn't drinking from the glass of water on her desk, or she would have spit it all out on the linen tablecloth. The pessimistic part of her believed that Ethan had found out the truth the hard way. And it was that part that took over her body, so much so that she couldn't even respond.- "He can join us," Jean suggested, even though he realized that something wasn't going well in that little dialogue.- "Who knows," Carter muttered, then smiled and pushed away from the table.Jean was a smart man. He knew his daughter was involved wit
- "Well, I'll wait for you in the Bentley," Jean murmured, and Blair could only nod in agreement.Christopher led the way to the set of elevators to the east of the ballroom. And as she followed him, the redhead searched for a solution to rid herself of that feeling of loss ingrained in her mind, but she couldn't. How could she not have lost everything she had with Ethan, when the end was written in his every action?Blair tried to push the bitter thoughts out of her head as she stepped into the elevator and, with Ethan's employee, walked down to the parking lot. She knew she didn't have much time to sort things out, but she hoped she would have just one more day.They both got off at the ground floor in silence. The redhead walked behind Christopher, keeping a few steps away in case he changed his mind and decided to run back to the elevator.There were three cars in the large parking lot; two sports cars side by side in the far spaces, and a black SUV. And from the way the SUV was c
- "Ethan, I didn't have a choice," Blair snapped as soon as he finished speaking.Banks discovered who Blair really was, the lies she told and the truths she kept from telling. But in the process, she also discovered who Ethan was. And worse, what he did.- "You didn't have a choice? I had to give up an entire life and take on shit that wasn't mine, and you were the one who didn't have a choice?"- "I didn't know!" Blair cried, and at that moment it was impossible to stop the tears from rolling down her red face.Faced with the woman's emotion, Ethan was unmoved. He couldn't believe her, her reasons, her excuses. The only thing Ethan could guarantee was that Blair worked for the police.- "I didn't know," she repeated, this time in a whispered tone.Blair wanted to tell him the whole truth. She wanted to tell him that she helped Spencer because she could relate to his story. She wanted to tell him that she was too in love to just give him up on a silver platter. She wanted to tell him