Hidden Truths (The Hidden Series Book 1) Read online

  “I like her,” Conrad said, grinning, and I got the feeling he meant it. I wished he would ask questions, so I could figure out more about him, but Jake just winked at him and dragged me to another door.

  “Be good, kids,” I heard him call behind us.

  Jake closed the door behind us, shaking his head. I looked around at what must be his bedroom. There was a mattress on the floor with a blanket thrown over it, and that was it.

  “Like to keep it simple,” I observed. He looked around like he was seeing it for the first time.

  “No point in having stuff,” he replied, moving to another door. It was a closet, and I noticed his clothes hung nicely, as he reached on the floor and dragged out a couple of massive books. I plopped down on the bed, legs folded underneath me. He settled one of the books in my lap, and I suppressed my groan at the sheer size of it. It could take hours to look through these.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve narrowed it down to known dealers in the area. I figure they’re the most likely to want Daniel out of the picture,” he assured me.

  “Have you considered that the guy who killed Samuel isn’t the same person as the guy that ordered him killed?” I asked him the question that had occurred to me during my restless night. We knew there was a leak somewhere. Probably within one of the police departments or the courthouse, and they were selling information. Finding the guy that pulled the trigger didn’t mean there wasn’t a bigger fish.

  “Yeah, in fact I’m betting on it,” he answered, and seeing my puzzled look, he continued. “If we can get him for murder, then we might be able to get him to turn on his supplier for a reduced sentence. It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s the only way we can stop the flow of drugs from getting in.”

  He opened the book to some pages that were marked. “Let me know if you see anyone familiar. I’ll ask questions, if you think you can answer them while you’re looking.” I nodded in absentminded agreement, already focused on the faces on the page. I wanted to find his face. A face that would be generic under any other circumstance, but one which represented evil to me. I flipped through the pages, as Jake asked random questions. I replied, not paying attention to any pattern in his questions, until he asked one specific question, keeping his tone carefully neutral.

  “Is there a leak in my unit?” he asked, his face telling me he feared the question was too vague.

  “No,” I answered, somehow knowing the leak wasn’t in his unit and looked up at him.

  “It has to be someone who knows about Daniel,” I said, thinking out loud.

  “But who?” Jake asked, not really thinking I would know the answer. “Daniel is a key witness in a multiple parish drug sting. The number of people that know about him is huge.”

  “The same guy that killed Samuel knows about Daniel, and he’s the leak,” I stated confidently, not thinking through the implications of my statement.

  Jake’s next question was quiet, disguising its intensity. “Is the person that killed Samuel a cop?” Jake asked me.

  “Yes.” My reply spilled from me without conscious thought.

  “A dirty cop,” he said bitterly, his mouth tight. “It’s bad enough for a cop to sell secrets, but this guy is obviously doing the work himself.” His disgust was apparent, but his words caused me greater worry. Not only did I know the face of the killer, he was a cop.

  Which meant all the time I had just spent looking at mug shots was wasted. I groaned at that realization.

  “Does Daniel know the cop that killed his brother?” Jake asked, curiously.

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “But if we know it’s a cop, it’s gotta be easier to find him, right?”

  Jake shook his head. “Not really. We don’t keep books of officer pictures. Plus, you said it’s not my unit, but there’s the sheriff’s department, state troopers, city police, and the DEA involved. If the cop is dirty, he has information on both sides—the dealers and the ones trying to stop them. It explains why we’ve had so much trouble busting this ring.”

  “But doesn’t this put you at even higher risk?” I asked, even more worried now. This guy would not like finding out an undercover cop was poking around. He had already killed a kid because his brother was testifying, and I knew Daniel had no idea about this cop. He had buried his tracks well.

  “It does if he knows. But there’s only one other person that knows I’m undercover beside my partner,” he said, with a nod to the door. Conrad was his partner, obviously. I shoved the useless books of mugshots off my legs, frustrated. We kept finding ourselves deeper in questions, with fewer answers. I knew the face of our dirty cop, but that didn’t get us any closer to busting him. Jake shoved the books back into his closet and shut the door. We didn’t need them anymore.

  He settled back on the bed next to me. “Chin up. We’ll figure it out. After all, I have an ace up my sleeve no one knows about.”

  I looked at him questioningly, and he smiled. “You,” he clarified, to my embarrassment. I could confirm what he knew, answer questions to get us closer to the truth, plus I knew exactly who had committed the crime.

  I heard footsteps, but before I could register what they meant I found myself on Jake’s lap.

  Chapter Eight

  His mouth was on mine instantly. My lips parted in surprise, and I felt the easy sweep of his tongue enter my mouth. I tangled my hands in his hair without thinking, as I felt his hands slide under my shirt and up my back. I was lost in the feel of his mouth moving over mine, pressing firmly, his movements quick and talented. I had the dreamy thought that he really was an excellent driver before we were interrupted by a loud voice.

  “Hate to interrupt, but study session is over,” Conrad said, as Jake pulled back. He slid his hands from under my shirt and pressed my head against his chest. I let him, needing to get my face under control. Jake might have been trying to keep our cover, but I had responded to his kiss. In fact, I wanted to pull his head down and try it again.

  “We’ll be out in a second,” Jake snapped, indicating Conrad should shut the door behind him.

  I heard the door close and picked my head up. I got why he did it, and I was trying not to read anything more into his kiss, but it was hard when all I wanted to do was repeat it. I was telling myself, ‘He’s too old for me. He’s a cop. This was a dangerous situation—’ when he lifted my chin to look me in the eye.

  “I’m sorry about that. I seem to kiss you without warning,” he said, with a soft smile. His thumb was tracing a path along my chin, and I wondered if he realized it. I couldn’t help but feel a tingle at his touch. I forced myself to concentrate on his words. I already knew what was coming.

  “I have a girlfriend,” he said, completely crushing my idea of what I thought was coming. I blinked at him. I could have sworn he was about to tell me this was all a show to keep his cover in place and not to read anything into it. “She knows I’m undercover, but not where or why or anything. That would be too dangerous for her to know. Plus, we can’t see each other.” He was rambling, and I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. He was warning me off, but it almost seemed like he was reminding himself at the same time.

  “I get it,” I interrupted. “I’m part of your cover now. Conrad thought we were studying biology. I got it.” I smiled at him, attempting to not feel hurt. I realized I was still on his lap, so I stumbled my way off of him. He cleared his throat, looking at my stomach. I looked down to see my shirt had ridden up, baring my midriff to him. I tugged it down and spun around to the door.

  He was behind me, his arm reaching around to open the door, and for a second I was trapped. His arm brushed my side and, for that brief moment, I felt him press into me. It was over as quickly as it started, and we walked into the living room. Conrad was standing by the bar munching on something, and I realized he had interrupted us intentionally. He knew they were undercover and wanted to give Jake an escape from the ‘girlfriend’. I laughed to myself. Conrad’s good intentions seemed to be causing J
ake’s bad ones.

  “Studying works better if you take your books with you,” he said, kicking Jake’s backpack.

  “Some things don’t require books to learn,” Jake said, with a cocky grin, swiping peanuts from Conrad’s hand. I smiled at them, amused by their obvious familiarity with one another. Conrad was the blonde blue-eyed opposite of Jake. He was relaxed and teasing, while Jake was the more serious, focused one. Jake’s dark hair was mussed from my fingers and his hazel eyes were more green than normal. I didn’t know if it was the light colored shirt he was wearing or the emotions he was keeping checked, but either way, it was hard to look away from him. I was fearful my feelings were obvious to Conrad, but then I realized it didn’t matter. For all he knew I thought I was actually Jake’s girlfriend. I rubbed my head to relax the headache I felt forming. Our situation was beginning to confuse me.

  I noticed the time and told Jake I needed to go. Truthfully, it was a little early, but I would rather not be in this neighborhood after dark, even with Jake there to protect me.

  Our ride home was silent, neither of us knowing what to say. Once we pulled into my driveway, he told me, “I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Call or text if you need anything.”

  I nodded at him and then remembered what I wanted to ask him, “Can I give Carly this number? So she can text me or whatever?”

  “Yeah, it’s yours,” he said with an easy grin. I smiled my thanks before hopping out.

  After dinner that night, I texted Carly. I had her number, but I had never had an opportunity to use it. My phone rang seconds later, her squeal deafening me when I answered, “I can’t believe you have a phone now! This is the best thing ever. Well, after hottie Tristan!” she said, happily. I had a momentary regret over the fact that she knew I had a phone now, before remembering why I decided to tell her.

  “Do you think you and your mom could pick me up for school in the morning?” I asked.

  “Sure. It’s super early though,” she warned me. I knew she had tutoring on Wednesday mornings and her mom dropped her off. I needed time to research. The school library would be perfect. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I hoped to find something that triggered an idea.

  Chapter Nine

  The next weeks passed with me trying to learn more about Daniel Phillips, since he was the only person I had been able to get concrete answers on so far. Jake told Conrad he thought a dirty cop was responsible for Samuel Phillips death and Conrad agreed to look into it.

  Jake couldn't break cover to go talk to his captain or anyone from his unit, so we spent a few hours going over every single person from his unit to see if any of them could possibly be the leak. It was an uncomfortable afternoon for me, but it seemed to relieve Jake’s mind. He took my word that they were innocent, and I hoped I was right. I had never relied on my ability so heavily, and I was afraid there may be a flaw in our thinking.

  Jake made it a point to find out more about me during our afternoon study sessions. “How did you wind up friends with Carly?” he asked, after we’d gone over the guys in his unit.

  “Freshmen Orientation.” I said, smiling at the memory of our first meeting.

  “Hi! I’m Carly. I couldn’t help but notice your boobs. I’m jealous. I keep asking my mom if I can get those gel things to make mine bigger but she said no. I think she’s being ridiculous. Are yours fake?” she said in a breathless rush.

  “Um, no. They’re all natural,” I answered, startled by this tiny person. I couldn’t help but notice she was flat chested and probably weighed ninety pounds.

  “You are soooo lucky,” Carly gushed, and I believed she meant it. As awkward as it was talking about my boobs, I couldn’t help but like her. She seemed genuine. “We should be friends,” she continued, completely certain I would agree. I gave her a questioning look, because I wasn’t seeing the connection. She seemed to grasp my confusion as she explained. “I’m jealous and I’ll totally hate you because of your boobs, but if we’re friends I can’t hate you.”

  I nodded at this odd logic, already feeling like I had no choice in the matter. Carly had decided we would be friends and that was it. Suddenly, she poked me in the boob. I stepped back startled. She looked at me sheepishly, “I was making sure they were real.”

  My mouth opened before I told her, “Friends don’t poke each other’s boobs. Let’s just get that straight right now.” She nodded, her eyes wide, and that was the start of our quirky friendship.

  Jake was rolling on the bed laughing. “She poked your boob?” he asked, gasping. “Man, I always wondered about girl relationships, like going to the bathroom together.”

  “Well, I don’t know if it’s all girls, but that’s Carly for sure.” I laughed with him, the memory easing the seriousness of our present situation.

  The weekends passed slowly for me, because I didn’t see Jake then. We had kept our relationship from my family, mostly because we aren’t actually dating, and I didn’t want to bring any danger to them. It continued to get harder and harder to separate the truth from the fiction though. Especially with Carly and Conrad believing we were dating. My family helped me to keep the truth straight, even though it was hard not to mention Jake. He had begun to integrate himself into my life by this point, and I relied on his friendship.

  One day after gym, a guy grabbed my arm. I recognized him as one of the dealers that hung around Jake at school. I attempted to jerk my arm away, but he tightened his grip. My heart raced, a mix of adrenaline and fear running through me. I knew better than to let the fear show, so instead, I allowed my anger to bubble to the surface.

  “What do you want?” I sneered, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “I just want to talk to you, baby,” he said, his words placating, but his eyes were calculating.

  “And you need to grab my arm to do that?” I bit out, testing his hold. I didn’t want to make a scene, but I also wasn’t letting him drag me off somewhere. He must have realized it too, because he dropped my arm. I stumbled away from him, my nose flaring in anger. He smiled, a creepy sadistic smile, before he said, “You tell Tristan, Ripper said hello.” I didn’t reply, just walked to my next class, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was being used as a pawn.

  I texted Jake when I got to class, telling him what Ripper said. I left out the fact that he grabbed me, but Jake wanted to meet after school anyway. We had cooled off on hanging out at his place, since Conrad was getting suspicious. Jake wasn’t getting any information from me, so my presence every day wasn’t helping the case.

  By the time I met him at his car, the bruises were starting to show. All I had on was a short sleeved shirt, so I couldn’t hide them.

  Jake noticed immediately.

  “He did this?” he growled, his tone belied by the gentle touch of his hand on my arm. He stroked his fingers over the bruises, lightly pressing. I attempted to stop the hiss that escaped me when he brushed over a particularly sensitive spot, but failed. His hand stopped immediately, his stillness frightening me.

  “I’ll need to talk to Ripper,” he said, his words soft, and his controlled calm was far more terrifying than Ripper’s casual violence.

  “Get in.” He opened the car door for me. I slid in, watching the tick in his jaw. He didn’t slam the car door, and his control was making me insane. If he slammed things and shouted, I would feel better. But at the moment, I was afraid I would be helping him bury Ripper’s body in the woods.

  He took me home, and I hesitated before getting out.

  “What are you going to do?”

  His voice was easy as he replied, “I’m going to have a word with Ripper. No worries.” That didn’t relieve my mind in the least, but I knew I couldn't stop him.

  “Call me later?” Our eyes met for a second, as he gave me a tight nod. His eyes were dark with a violent emotion, sending a chill straight down my spine.

  I was twitchy during dinner. Jake still hadn’t called, and now I was wondering if he would.

  “How’s sc
hool?” My mom asked, sliding a plate in front of me. I shrugged, not interested in talking. Her sigh made me feel guilty, so I told her about my research paper. She made agreeable noises as I explained my thesis, going more in depth than I intended, but I was using it as a distraction. Paw Paw was steadily eating, ignoring my chatter.

  “That’s interesting!” my mom said, before adding, “Just make sure you get it done.” I rolled my eyes in frustration. Every conversation went this way. I told her what I was doing, and she made it a point to be parental and tell me what I needed to do. Like what was the point? I didn’t need to be led around. I knew what I needed to do to get a scholarship for college.

  I got up abruptly, unwilling to give voice to my irritation, but needing to escape her well-meaning words. And that was the thing. I knew she meant well. She had never had a chance to go to college and she wanted it for me. I understood, but I couldn’t make her understand that I was capable of doing what I needed to. It freaked her out when I took honors classes, for pity’s sake. She wanted me to do well, but she never seemed to think I could actually do it.

  I was loading the dishwasher when she came in and hugged me. “You know I love you.”

  “Of course,” I said, leaning into her hug.

  “I worry. You’re not like me, and I push my insecurities onto you,” she said, her face apologetic. I knew what she was saying was true, but I wished for once she would try to refrain from commenting. It was hard enough giving myself a pep talk without her doubts hammering at me. Sometimes I had to use her words as a challenge. I was pretty sure that had never been her intent, but whatever worked, right?

  I gave her what she needed though. “I know, its fine. I love you too.” Her smile brightened and I let her obvious happiness soothe my aggravation.

  I headed upstairs to study, checking my phone every other minute. Finally, he called right before I was going to sleep.

  “You can sleep easy. I’m fine,” I heard, before I could say a word.

  “I wasn’t worried about you,” I said, without thinking.