All Falls Down (18 page)

He sighs and turns to face me. His expression is grim as he stares down at me, conflicted. "I need you to promise me something," he says.

My heart is in my throat again, but I manage to nod.

"Promise me that what I'm about to say to you stays between us. Katrina and Madeline can't know. No one can. Not a word of it." He is so serious. Whatever he has to say can't be good.

I think I'm actually terrified to hear it.

"I promise," I mouth.

His gaze tangles with mine for a minute.

Time seems to stretch out forever while I wait for him to tell me what's going on. To explain to me how he can be so sure that this isn't wrong and why everything is so complicated. I'm honestly not sure what I'm expecting him to say given what little I do know, but it certainly isn't what comes out of his mouth.

"I'm an FBI agent, Savannah. I'm here investigating Talbot International."

Chapter Eleven:  Say When

My mouth drops open. I can't move. All I can do is stand there, stunned.

Jared's hand is in his hair again, tugging on it. His expression is torn, nervous… like he just told me that he's hiding a terrorist in his basement and expects me to start screaming bloody murder.

I can't scream though. I can't even process what he's just said to me.

He's–

"Savannah?" His eyes are full of doubt.

His voice seems to coax my own from me.

"I don't understand." I sink down to the couch, not at all certain I heard him correctly.

"I'm an FBI agent," he says again. He paces around again, seemingly caged. His hand never leaves his hair.

"You're investigating T.I.?" My brain begins to fire again. "
Why?
" I can't even begin to imagine why the FBI would be interested in T.I. A thousand different scenarios run through my mind, all jumbled together. The only thing that's clear in any of it is that this just can't be right. Matthew wasn't a criminal.

He wasn't… was he?

No. I
know
he wasn't.

I stare at Jared, silently demanding that he explain why my world is suddenly spinning, knocked completely out of orbit.

He sighs and continues pacing.

Watching him is killing me, making me crazy.

I feel as if I'm in the middle of some blockbuster movie where the plot twists and turns and the characters have no better idea of what's going on than the audience does. Two minutes ago, my biggest concern was whether I was horrible person. That suddenly seems like a moot point. Some part of me – the part that will always be loyal to Matthew in thanks for all he did for me – rises to the surface. It's angry. So, so angry.

How
dare
Jared lie to everyone?

How dare he put me in a position where I have to choose between him and the Talbots?

"Why?" I demand. "How could you do this to them? They trusted you."

I trusted you
, I want to cry, but I don't. This isn't about me. It's about the family that took me in when I had nowhere to go… not once, but twice. I may be a terrible friend for falling for him, but I'll never side with someone against the sisters. Ever. Not even Jared.

He stops pacing and sinks to his knees in front of me again. "It's not what you think," he says, clasping my hands tightly in his. "I swear to you that I'm not trying to hurt Lexi or her sisters."

Despite how angry I am, I can't doubt that when he says it. I've seen the way he is with the girls, how much he cares for them, and how much Matthew's death has upset him. Whatever is going on, he isn't trying to hurt them. But that doesn't really tell me anything either.

I don't know what the hell is going on.

"You have to explain," I say. I'd like to be able to say that it's a demand, but it's not. The words are closer to a plea. I'm begging him to put my world back in order and make sense of the mess that's just exploded around me.

He closes his eyes for a moment. "Because of my family and the opportunities that afforded me, the FBI recruited me to help investigate crimes involving major corporations," he says. "I have the training and the connections, so it doesn't raise any red flags if I'm suddenly placed inside a private sector company. My job with the FBI isn't common knowledge, but Lex and Chris went to college together and were good friends, so she knew. About a year ago, Matthew grew concerned about T.I. shipments into Central Africa. Lexi called me for help. I couldn't promise her anything, but I agreed to meet with Matthew and see what he had."

For the first time since he said he's an FBI agent, I can breathe again.

Matthew isn't a criminal. Jared isn't investigating the family.

My hands actually shake in his, my relief is so profound.

"He couldn't prove anything," he continues, his gaze unfocused, far away, "but shipments they were sending in for civilians caught in the war were being snatched up by the rebels too frequently for it to be coincidence. It looked as if the militias knew when the shipments were going through and where they were going to be. Matthew changed routes several times, and every time, the militias would strike and take everything. They've lost millions of dollars, which is bad enough. But Matthew was more concerned with the fact that T.I. employees were being killed in the process."

Oh no.
Matthew would have been devastated.

"It got to the point where only those directly associated with the deliveries were being given route information, but they kept losing shipments. He cycled people out, but nothing helped. To  protect his people, Matthew was faced with halting all shipments into the area and leaving thousands of people without food, water, and basic medical supplies." Jared cocks a brow at me as he says this and I nod, understanding.

Matthew would not have willingly cut off shipments to a war torn country. So many others refused to risk it, and that's exactly why Matthew and T.I. always did. He cared what happened to the people caught in the middle.

"When Matthew approached me with his concerns, it was fairly obvious to everyone that it was in our best interest to investigate for a number of reasons. Without companies like T.I., hundreds of thousands would be completely at the mercy of these militias." Jared pauses for a minute, anger and sadness twisting through his expression.

"Matthew hated how much control the militias have," I say quietly.

"I do too." Jared shakes his head, frowning. "They're brutal, and no one is safe. Children are swallowed up into their armies. Women and little girls are raped and murdered. Innocent civilians go without food and medical care; their homes are destroyed. Since the anti-balaka militias have started running wild, the crisis has gotten worse. It would be a complete catastrophe if T.I. was forced to pull out. My superiors agreed. Thad had just announced his retirement, so they set me up in his place."

"Within weeks of taking the position, Lex was nearly run over after a giving a speech at a convention. We assumed it was an accident, but the driver confessed that someone paid him to do it, but he didn't know who. He swore he wasn't trying to kill her, but had she not moved so quickly, she probably wouldn't have survived."

"Oh my God," I mouth, horrified.

Jared squeezes my hands in his. "A month later, Matthew was on-site at the new warehouse when a light display fell. It was another close call. One of the construction workers fled the scene, and we ended up with the same story. Someone paid him to do it and he didn't know who."

"Who would do that?" I ask. Who could possibly do something like that to Lexi and Matthew? Who could possibly
want
to? Matthew was such a good person, and so is Lexi. What they do at T.I. is honorable. How could anyone want to destroy that?

"It got to the point where only board members were provided information on the routes into Central Africa. We kept Lexi and Matthew's itineraries under wraps, too, but there were several other close calls. And then someone severed his brake line." Jared sighs heavily. "It looks like he was murdered by one of his own board members."

The breath I've just recently found rushes out of me again. For a minute, I think I'm going to pass out. Spots actually swim through my field of vision and everything seems distorted.

"You've gotta breathe, beautiful girl," Jared says, chaffing my hands between his.

I take a gasping breath and then another. The spots disappear and everything begins to come into focus again. I keep breathing. One deep breath after another.

Jared rises to his feet and settles onto the couch beside me. He pulls me up against him, wrapping his arms around me. I sink into his embrace, needing it more in this moment than any that has come before. I never expected this. I never expected what he was keeping from me to be this
real
, this
scary
.

Lexi's life is truly in danger.

I knew that, but before, it was abstract, something I suspected but didn't really understand. Now though, it's blindingly real. One of Matthew's closest friends, the people he trusted more than anyone else, murdered him. And now they're trying to kill his daughter and destroy his company, too.

Who could do that to him?

Why
would they do that to him?

"Better?"

I nod, not at all sure I'm okay.

Jared's quiet for a minute and then he continues. "We don't know who's responsible, and the board checks out." His shoulders move against me in a shrug. "But there's no other explanation."

"Are you…. You're pretending to be her boyfriend?" I ask, needing a minute to process what he's just told me.

"Yes. We couldn't risk raising suspicion by bringing anyone else in to keep them safe, so we came up with this plan." He sighs again. "It gave me an excuse to move into the mansion and allowed Chris to take on security."

Relief rushes through me.

All I can think is
thank God
. I know that shouldn't be my primary concern in this moment, but it is. Lexi and Jared aren't dating. He doesn't belong to her.

I clear my throat and try to focus on the matter at hand.

"Is Chris FBI, too?"

"No," Jared answers. "He and Demetri do private security." He strokes my cheek. "There have been a few letters threatening Mad and Katie. Since Chris is my brother and everyone thinks Lex and I are dating, bringing him in to help keep an eye on the girls was the best solution we could come up with."

"Kit doesn't know?" I'm suddenly horrified that I convinced her to go back to school. She doesn't need to be there at all! She needs to be here, where Jared can keep her safe.

"No one knows, love. Because of the situation in Africa, Matthew was adamant that we keep this quiet. If it becomes common knowledge that T.I. convoys are being targeted, it'll create a panic. Aid groups will start pulling their people out, and that's the last thing anyone wants. Matthew didn't want Katrina or Madeline to worry so he never told them either. Now that he's gone, Lexi's adamant that they not know. Until we know who's behind all of this…." he trails off.

I know what he isn't saying. Until they know, nothing can change. He has to see this through to protect the girls and T.I. employees. Leaving Lexi for me would destroy his cover, and cause too many people to start asking questions they shouldn't. Until it's over, he can't just be with me.

"I shouldn't have taken you out today," he whispers while I try to absorb the ramifications of this. "But I can't stay away from you, and I made sure we weren't followed." He strokes my cheek again. "I can't just break things off with her though."

I don't know what to say to that because he's right, so I focus on the other stuff.

"What do they want from Lexi?"

"We don't know if they're trying to make a play for T.I., if they're trying to accomplish something in Africa, or if there's something more personal behind all of this. Because the problems came up so soon after Matthew announced that Lexi would take over as CEO when he retired, we're assuming it's a personal vendetta. Someone doesn't want her in charge. But until we find out who's responsible, we're blind." He sighs again. "And now you're in danger too."

"I…." I am? I don't see how. I'm inconsequential. Just the wayward maid's abandoned daughter. I have nothing to do with T.I. "How?"

"You're here and you know the truth," he explains. "That puts you at risk. I don't think anyone will target you to get to Lexi, but I can't promise that. And if whoever is behind this finds out that you know the truth, or that you and I are together, I don't know what they'll do. They've already killed Matthew. That's why I didn't want to tell you. I needed time to figure out what to do, to figure out how to keep you out of it."

"Oh." I should be terrified, but I'm not. Guilt swims through me again, stinging.

"It's not your fault," he says again as if he's read my mind. "You had a right to want to know what's going on. I just wish–" He stops talking. "I can't change the situation. I promised Lex that I'd keep her and the girls safe, and I'm on this case until it's finished. I can't walk away."