Page 53 of Unraveling an Enigma
I don’t turn my head, but I can see Brandon timidly rising from the bed in Hugo’s dilated eyes.
“What’s going on?” Brandon asks, his tone quivering with panic.
“Why don’t you tell us, Blondie?” Hugo’s voice drips with sarcasm.
After narrowing my eyes into thin slits and giving Hugo my best “warning” look, I spin around to face Brandon. His gaze flicks between Hugo and me before it shifts to the side. His cheeks whiten when Hunter leans in the doorjamb of his hotel room.
I turn my gaze to Brandon. “They found a listening device in my cell phone,” I inform him.
Brandon nods before the realization dawns on his face. “I didn’t plant the bug. It wasn’t me. Izzy, you know me; I’ve been helping you.” His panicked hazel eyes shift from darting between Hugo and Hunter to stare into my eyes. “You know me,” he affirms.
I nod.I do know him, and I trust him.
“You’re the only one who’s been with Izzy since I removed the last bug yesterday morning.” Hugo’s angry sneer reverberates around the outdated room.
In a split second, clarity forms in my muddled brain. “No, he wasn’t,” I announce, pivoting around to face Hugo. “Theresa Veneto and a male agent came to my apartment yesterday afternoon.”
Hugo’s eyes meet mine. “She showed me photos of Col Petretti’s right-hand man in a hospital bed. She said he was beaten the weekend Isaac and I went to 57. She was trying to force me to unwillingly incriminate Isaac in the case,” I explain.
Hunter’s deep snicker sounds through the room. “That is bullshit. One, if Isaac had tracked him down that night, he wouldn’t have been left breathing. And two, Col Petretti would have never filed a police report on the assault, let alone have an FBI agent consider it. He would have swept it under the rug like he always does,” Hunter says.
Hunter squeezes Hugo’s shoulder. After working his jaw side to side, Hugo lowers his gun. I eye Hunter suspiciously when he paces to stand in front of a quiet and white-faced Brandon. He slants his head as his eyes vigorously assess Brandon.
“Who are you?” he questions, his tone clipped.
“Brandon James.” Brandon offers his hand to Hunter to shake.
Hunter snubs his offer. “What’s your real name?” He crosses his arms in front of his chest, arrogantly goading Brandon. “Because I did a search on a Brandon James after your date with Izzy a couple of months ago; nothing came up.”
Brandon’s lips curl high. “Just like your search on Izzy failed to yield any real results?”
I’m not the only one shocked by Brandon’s bold statement. Hunter and Hugo are also taken aback.
“I buried Izzy’s private life just as much as I did my own,” Brandon informs them, shifting his eyes to me. His gaze is clouded with intrigue and anxiety. “I knew they’d be looking.”
My brows scrunch as bewilderment bombards me. I don’t need to ask him anything. His truthful eyes communicate the entire story. He knows my secret. He knows who my dad is.
“Isaac already knows.”
“I’m not talking about Isaac,” Brandon responds. “I’m talking about the Bureau.”
My heart plunges into my stomach as the room falls into uncomfortable silence. Brandon smiles before strolling to the other side of the room. He opens a black leather satchel and pulls out a sheet of white paper.
“You’re not the only one who has been doing some research the past few days,” he murmurs, handing me the printed document.
My eyes drop to the piece of paper. The more I read, the closer my brows become. “The Bureau paid for me to fly business class?” I ask, my words shuddering with nerves.
Hugo snatches the piece of paper from my hand.
“Not the Bureau, Izzy. Alex signed off on it,” Brandon tells me.
“That son of a bitch,” I growl. “Why would he do that?”
Brandon cringes his shoulder lifts into a hunch. I clench my fists into a tight ball while struggling to rein in the urge to curse the quiet night air. I shouldn’t be surprised by Brandon’s admission. Alex was adamant from the very first day that I was only brought in as a piece of eye candy for Isaac. I just didn’t comprehend how vigorous his attempts were to force me to go undercover.
Until now.
Isabelle
