She ignored the glass of wine, poured water from the pitcher instead. Her stomach was churning, and she wanted her wits about her. She still had a headache from whatever he’d given her to knock her out. He’d drugged her, the bastard. Instead of trusting her and telling her the truth, he’d practically kidnapped her and taken her to his lair.
The dark abyss opened again. All this time, he’d been alive. All this time, he’d allowed her to think he was dead.
They didn’t talk. There were no words to say after their disconnected kiss. She accepted a plate and nibbled at it, watching him. His long fingers, the broad shoulders, all that was the same. But his face was eerie: flatter, smoother, his eyes dark. His hair was bleached from the sun, or maybe carefully, skillfully highlighted. He looked more like Chase’s brother than her husband.
She couldn’t get a read on him, couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad. His eyes used to have so much expression, and now they were empty. Soulless. Like him.
“Contacts?”
“Implants, actually. Safer, in the long run.” He touched the parts of his face that were altered. “Nose, chin, cheek, too. Just enough to get me past the facial-recognition systems so I can travel. Though I don’t do too much of that anymore.”
Implants. New bones in his face, silicone, fake.
It was all a lie. He was a lie.
She put her fork down. “Why? Why in the world would you want to do this? For the money?”
He looked at her in horror. “Are you kidding?”
“What am I supposed to think?”
“God damn it, I was trying to protect you!”
And he stormed out of the room.
Aubrey let her head sink onto her hands. This new, strange Josh was unnerving. He was volatile. Unpredictable. The antithesis of the previous incarnation of her husband.
Unbidden, Chase’s smile came to her. The feel of his body beneath her hands. The way he laughed. The differences between them were so stark to her now. She couldn’t believe the variances had seemed so slight. Her mind had allowed the details of her husband to fade, to warp and grow dull. She realized the memory of Chase was more real to her at this moment than the physical version of Josh, somewhere nearby.
The old Aubrey would have curled up and cried, overwhelmed at the situation. She was different now. Stronger. Fierce. She wanted answers. She was ready for the truth, whatever that might be.
She took a few deep breaths, then went searching for Josh. She found him on the deck, sitting cross-legged in a spacious chair, his face turned to the sun. The waves lapped the beach below them, a gentle, constant roar.
She sat on the hard deck near him, drew her legs to her chest, wrapped her arms around them so she was as small as could be.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
CHAPTER 64
Josh
Five Years Ago
It all went south.
Of course it did.
There was a car waiting for Josh in the Opryland parking lot. He barely noted the drive downtown, arrived at his assigned spot in the parking lot Allen had chosen for their assignation, sweating bullets. He didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to be here, but if he could make it happen quickly and get back to the hotel before anyone missed him . . .
Yeah, right, Hamilton. Good luck with that.
Allen pulled up in his barely dented car. Another swept into the parking lot.
It was go time.
Derek Allen got out of the car, stuffing a weapon into the back of his pants. He saw Josh and smiled, signaled for him to come closer.
“Good, you’re here. You have the gun?”
“Yes. You could have called. You didn’t have to stage an intervention, wreck my car, and fuck with my life.”
“Oh, kid. Just covering all my bases. Let me see the gun.”
Josh handed it over. Allen took it and stashed it in his pocket. Josh noticed he was wearing gloves, kicked himself for not thinking of it. Yeah, you’re a bona fide criminal mastermind, Hamilton. Be sure you wipe the gun down after this.
“Here,” Allen said, handing him another gun. “This one’s not loaded. Don’t want you blowing your cock off or anything by accident.”
“I wouldn’t be so stupid.”
“Kid, you’re shaking. Take a breath and get it together. You know what to do. We practiced this. So man the fuck up.”
They turned to face the second car. The parking lot was dead quiet, the moon casting shadows across the pavement. Josh shivered; he couldn’t help it. He had a terrible feeling about this.
The other dealer stepped from his vehicle. He was dark and thick and surly. He had a large briefcase in his meaty hand.
The three stepped forward and met between the cars. Allen was the first to speak.
“Let’s get this done, shall we? Javier, meet Josh. You wanted to put a face to the name. He’s our link to the Oxy and prescription pads. Josh, this is Javier Cosmos, who’s going to be helping us distribute deeper into the city.”
Cosmos eyed Josh with distaste. He spit on the pavement. “He is just a child. How do we know we can trust him?”
Allen smiled widely. “You can’t. Josh?”
That was his cue. The gun didn’t shake in his hand. He was proud of that. He didn’t want to look like the scared little boy he really was.