The Dirty Series 2(63)

God knows what Charlie would do.

“The Hamptons it is,” Jett said, and he reels off several instructions to Stuart as he climbs out of the driver’s seat to open the doors for us.

All weekend at Jett’s absurdly large mansion in the Hamptons, I have to stifle the urge to tell him everything and beg him to drive me to the airport. Charlie might not know where my brother is, but I do—and if you know where to look, he wouldn’t be hard to find.

Maybe I should have told Adam to hide, to go somewhere nobody would think of looking, but of course that hadn’t been on my mind. I was the idiot who thought that silence meant his involvement was over.

I compromise by calling Adam on Sunday while Jett’s in the shower. He picks up on the third ring, laughter in his voice.

“What’s up, Angie?”

“You haven’t seen anybody following you, have you?” The moment I hear my brother’s voice, all of my carefully planned words fly right out of my head.

“No. Why?” I can hear him swallow worriedly over the phone. “Did...did something happen?”

“Charlie found out you left the city, and he’s not happy.”

There’s a short pause, then, “I’m coming back today.”

“Don’t!”

“What the fuck, Angie? You can’t expect me to stay here while you’re all—”

“What are you going to do, Adam? Be a sitting duck in your apartment, or at the bar?” I take in a deep breath, let it out. “I don’t have a lot of time to talk, but… listen, it’s taking longer than I thought to resolve all this, and if you’re here, Charlie’s just going to use you against me. Just… be on the lookout. He made it seem like they were trying to find you.”

“Okay,” Adam says, his voice tight. “But what the hell? This was supposed to be a one-time thing.”

I can’t keep the exasperation out of my voice. “We both know that’s bullshit.” I hear the shower turn off in the bathroom. “I have to go. Be careful. I love you.”

“I will. Love you, too.”

“Angelica?”

I drop my phone guiltily onto the surface of the bed as Jett strides in from the master bathroom, gloriously naked, ripped abs on full display, toweling off his dark hair and grinning at me.

“Hey,” I say. No matter what’s happening, the sight of him like this takes my breath away. It would break my heart if I let it—the thought that sooner rather than later, this is all going to come crashing down around me like a plane that’s lost both of its engines.

“You’re still dressed,” he says, pursing his lips, then steps over to me and takes the end of the belt of my robe in his hands.

I look down as if I’m just now noticing the blushing pink silk robe I threw on over my naked self when we climbed out of bed earlier this morning. “I guess I am....”

“Don’t worry,” Jett says, undoing the belt and sliding the robe off my shoulders. “I can help.” He kisses me softly, tasting minty and happy, and for a minute I forget myself in the depths of his kiss. The robe drops to the floor and pools around my feet.

“Now I’m totally naked,” I say, curling my arms around his neck.

“You’re right. We should get back in bed.”

He scoops me up in his arms and deposits me, laughing, onto the rumpled sheets, then he climbs in after me. “I don’t care.”

“You don’t care about what?”

“That we’re going to be late getting back to the city.”

Jett laughs, then leans down and runs his tongue along my collarbone before kissing his way up the side of my neck. “Late? Do you have plans?”

Yes. I need to download the latest information from your computer and then make plans to give it to the leader of a crime ring.

“Just being with you.”

“That’s the only plan I’m interested in.” He traces a finger around my nipple, making it stand out from the swell of my breast, and his skin against mine sends an electric jolt of need straight down between my legs.

It’s several hours before we actually leave for the city.

After all of this, Monday hits me like a sucker punch.

The instructions from Charlie come in at noon. A different cafe, 5:15. The flash drive burns a hole in my purse. He doesn’t mention Adam or my mom. Is that a good sign or not?

I push the fearful thought out of my head and bury myself into the latest work project, generating content for one of the websites that is scheduled to go live at the end of the week. Hadley must be busy saving Sisterspark from imminent bankruptcy because she doesn’t interrupt me once.