Black Jack (Advantage Play #5) - Kelsie Rae Page 0,56

when the details come into view.

What the hell?

Brows pinched, I tilt my head and look closer, convinced I’m seeing things.

No.

“These must be fabricated,” I announce, though I’m not sure who I’m trying to persuade.

“They’re not.”

“But––”

“How long has Bianca known Reed?” Embry orders.

My jaw tightens. “I wasn’t under the impression they knew each other.”

“Obviously, they do.” He motions to the photographs in my hand. The ones that show Bianca on her knees in front of him with his cock shoved down her throat and tears streaming down her cheeks. The ones that show her snorting cocaine while he holds her hair back with a grin that belongs on the Devil. The ones that show her bent over the tables a few moments later with him thrusting inside of her, his face slack with pleasure.

My stomach rolls with disgust, but I can’t look away from them. I just…I feel like a knife is sticking out of my back, but I can’t get it out. I can’t do anything but stare at the train wreck in front of me.

My wife had sex with the man who betrayed me. Multiple times, if I had to guess because her clothes and her hair are different from picture to picture. And there are more photographs. More evidence of her betrayal, but I can’t stomach to look at them.

“Do you know when these were taken?” I demand, tearing my gaze away from the photographs to look Embry in the eye.

“Depends. Some were a year ago, but the most recent ones seem to have been taken around four months ago.”

“Why are you showing these to me?”

“Because I wanted to know if you knew it was happening.”

“Obviously, I didn’t,” I grit out.

“I also wanted to let you know that it doesn’t look good for her. You’d told me she was trying to distance herself from her family.”

My molars are seconds from cracking, but I keep my mouth shut.

What the hell does he expect me to say?

“It doesn’t look good for you either, Jack,” he admits with defeat. “You’re married to a woman who was having sex with a man that you claimed was trying to frame you. Then her brother waltzes into the nearest precinct after you’ve turned yourself in and gives us evidence, along with his willingness to testify against the guy. Tell me it’s a coincidence, Jack.”

“Are you going to arrest me, sir?”

“What? Of course not––”

“Then what are you asking me?”

“I’m asking if you knew about her connection––”

“Of course, I didn’t know about her connection, Embry,” I seethe, shoving the envelope toward him. “You think I would’ve married a slut like that if I had known she was sleeping with the enemy? I hate Reed. I hate that he was involved with selling women for years without any of us knowing. I hate that he’s stolen my life. I hate that he made you––and everyone else in the––Bureau question my loyalty. I hate that he’s even managed to ruin my marriage while behind bars. If he’s so good at covering his ass, then why did he keep those photos where you could find them? It…It doesn’t make sense.”

“No. It doesn’t,” Embry replies. I can hear the pity in his voice. “I’m sorry, Connelly. For what it’s worth, I believe you. Regardless of the timeline, from when the phone was found in your desk and Reed’s solid alibi during it, I believe you. But this evidence will come out in court whether or not you want it to, and it doesn’t exactly paint your wife in a positive light.”

I scoff as the photographs flash through my memory. I’m gonna have to take some fucking bleach to my brain if I have any hope of forgetting what I’ve seen.

Rubbing his hand across his face, Embry adds, “I’m afraid it will reflect poorly on you too.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“Meaning that I’m not sure you’ll have a future in the Bureau after everything plays out, regardless of whether or not the prosecutors can convince the jury that Reed is guilty.”

“So, I can kiss my future goodbye.”

He sighs. “I’m just saying that you might want to start looking at other career options.”

With a sarcastic laugh, I mutter, “Gee, thanks.”

“You might want to warn Bianca about the possibility of her being dragged into this too,” he points out.

“I think I’ll pass. She’s made her bed. Now, she gets to lie in it. But thanks for the heads-up, Embry.” I toss a twenty dollar bill onto the table. “I appreciate it.”

Then I stand up and