Page 75 of Hushed

Gage laughed. “What makes you say that?”

“Just the people I see getting off on that floor. Lots of photography equipment and such.”

“That’s not helpful. Anything else?”

“Oh, there’s a real estate company and an advertising firm.”

He blew out a breath. “That might work. Thanks, Austin.”

When he ended the call, he looked at Evie. “You were meeting a friend for lunch who works in advertising, or you’re apartment hunting and visited a real estate agent. Your pick.”

When she was gone, he dropped into one of the conference chairs and dragged a hand through his hair.

“What the hell was that?” Jax asked. “And what do you mean it intersects with something you’re working on?”

“The condensed version is that the last thing Reggie was working on was chasing down the domestic elements of an international trafficking ring that involved everyone from the director of the CIA to a cartel leader in South America. His work was bringing him here to New York before he was killed. Things went dormant, but apparently a few weeks ago chatter picked up, and they’ve been working to decipher if any of it was a legit lead. They called me in because I was closest to Reggie and would be able to get into his notes and his head and see where he’d been looking. The Cage wasn’t on their radar, but they did believe an arm of the ring was being run out of a New York night club. Now evidence points to it being The Cage. You’re going to want to dig into Evie, Jake, and Chris.”

“Oh, goodie.” The cowboy rolled his eyes and reached for the door.

“It’s almost time for my night on Broadway. But we’ll talk soon.”

Before he stepped out into the hall, he turned back and said, “I should make you call Dakota and tell her I’m not coming home when she thought I was, since it’s your fault.”

Gage laughed. “I’ll do it if you want me to.”

When he was alone, Gage sat back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling, trying to process everything that had just happened. The trip to New York was always going to be messy. The government never did anything cleanly. But he wasn’t expecting Evie to throw a wrench in things.

And that was his first mistake.

Chapter 14

Kenzie

Kenzie stepped out of the wedding venue for her latest paying client on Thursday and smiled to herself with a sense of satisfaction. She’d rocked the video interview to get the job, and they’d asked her to come to the location and sign paperwork and discuss her set up.

The bride was a well-known pop star, and somehow, no one even knew she was dating, let alone about to get married. Tabloids regularly made random guesses about who she may or may not be sleeping with, as tabloids are prone to do, but no one thought she was in a serious relationship. And the bride-to-be didn’t intend on telling anyone about her wedding either, which is why the ceremony was being held at a private venue in New York instead of Las Vegas where the couple lived.

She didn’t get to meet the fiancé, but the bride seemed fun and easy to work with, especially since they both had a love for eclectic music. Not only that, but Kenzie had also been a fan of her client since her first album dropped several years ago.

How the hell did she get lucky enough to DJ Skylar-freaking-Cameron’s wedding? She hated that she couldn’t shout it from the rooftops. A gig like that on her resume would skyrocket her desirability. And Skylar seemed to understand that, so she was paying Kenzie at least twice the going rate for a gig like this since she couldn’t tell anyone she’d been hired. Skylar did promise to drop her name among some of her friends in the city and around the country.

High on adrenaline and anticipation, she was eager to get home and share the good news with Gage. They’d spent the last several days in a comfortable rhythm of sex, co-working on their individual projects, and getting to know each other. She was enjoying having him around and would be sad when he had to go back to D.C. for the weekend.

The sun was out, and fresh air and sunshine sounded perfect since she intended to trap Gage in her bed until it was time for him to get on the plane tomorrow. She asked the driver to drop her off a few blocks from her apartment, so she could walk the rest of the way.

As she walked down the sidewalk at her usual New Yorker brisk pace, she was hit with a craving for her favorite chips, and she realized she hadn’t eaten much that day. Two blocks from home, she took a quick detour, knowing there was a bodega nearby.

Her excitement faded as she pulled open the door, and her heart leapt into her throat. A familiar figure stood next to the register, and a woman was cuddling against his chest.

It took a moment to register who the woman was. What the fuck was Gage doing hugging Evie? Her stomach twisted as she stood paralyzed in the entry.

Evie looked up at Gage and giggled at something he said, and the fucker pulled her closer and smiled. For a moment, Kenzie thought they were going to kiss, and the very thought of that had her stomach threatening to empty its contents right there in the entry.

A sob hitched in her throat, but instead of confronting them, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo before backing out the door and running down the sidewalk.

Given the amount of noise she made as she bolted, there was no way he didn’t see her. So, the fact that he didn’t come after her sliced at her heart, and tears fell down her cheeks as she finished the short walk home.

But him cheating on her didn’t make sense. Not really. So, what was he up to? There had to be another explanation. Whatever it was, he needed to be fucking honest with her.

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