Chapter 34

I stood at the doorway of Agent Richards' office and said, "Agent Richards was here again, Ethan." In the hopes that he wouldn't dismiss me this time, I stood my ground. Watching him leaf through a pile of papers as if he hadn't heard me made my heart accelerate.

He looked up after a time, his forehead furrowed in a frown. "And?"

With the preceding document still vivid in my mind, I hesitated. "He's asking questions about Monroe Enterprises again. about you as well."

Ethan didn't blinked at all. "Let him ask."

"Let him ask?" I said it again, raising my voice. "This is serious, Ethan! That document I discovered wasn't a simple error. The FBI is now breathing down our necks because you are concealing something.

With a groan, he leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Emily. That document is worthless. Just old paperwork from my father's deals. It won't lead to anything."

"Nothin'?" With a swell of frustration, I entered the office. "Ethan, they are illegal weapons! How can you pretend it doesn't exist as you sit there?"

His expression stiffened. "I don't own it. It belonged to my dad. And nobody's going to find out about it."

Frustrated, I tightened my chest as I glared at him. "How do you know for sure?"

He said, "Because I know how to handle it," getting out of his chair and shrinking the space with his massive frame. "You need to stop worrying about things that aren't your concern."

My stomach turned over. "Aren't my concern? Ethan, the FBI is looking into us! You're excluding me, and I'm losing all sense of reality. If something goes wrong, I'm also involved."

Ethan's eyes were steely and his mouth was clinched. "It has nothing to do with you, as I already stated. I'm going to handle it."

I shook my head and muttered, "Right. Like you've been taking care of everything else?"

He didn't answer. As though our chat had come to an end, he simply turned away, his back to me. However, it wasn't. He was playing with fire, and I couldn't continue to be left in the dark like this.

I left his office without saying anything more, my feelings a jumbled mess of hurt, uncertainty, and rage.

I sank into my chair and tried to quiet the raging emotional tempest inside of me. Ethan was hiding something. I was aware. He was preventing me from entering, regardless of how hard I tried. I no longer knew how to bridge the emotional gap that had grown between us into an insurmountable chasm.

Agent Richards reappeared a few hours later, right before I was ready to end the day. He didn't come crashing in this time. As like he hadn't just threatened my entire world the last time we spoke, he was waiting for me beside the elevator, resting nonchalantly against the wall.

As I got closer, he straightened up and said, "Miss Clark. We need to talk."

With a weary voice, I said, "I've already told you everything I know. Nothing new has happened."

Richards' eyebrow went up. "Are you certain of that? Because I suspect that by now you have discovered something."

A beat skipped in my chest. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He moved in closer, staring into my eyes. "Look, Emily. You must realize that Monroe Enterprises isn't clean, even though I know you care about Ethan. Your father..." He stopped, obviously considering what he was going to say. "The legacy of Henry Monroe's years of criminal activity did not end with him. We're getting closer and constructing a case."

My pulse accelerated as I swallowed forcefully. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

Richards' eyes were shining as he grinned. "Emily, you have access to things. Files, meetings, documents... You have the ability to assist us in eliminating Monroe Enterprises."

I felt as though his words were pressing down on me. My thoughts were racing as I gazed at him. "You want me to spy on Ethan?"

"We want justice," Richards corrected. "We wish to bring to light the unlawful actions that have been taking place right in front of you. If you like it or not, you're already involved. The question is, which side are you on?"

My throat constricted. "I don't support anyone."

There was no warmth in his smile. "Both of us are aware that's untrue. You're on Ethan's side. But what if being on his side means sinking with him?"

I took a step back and shook my head. "I can't help you."

Richards drew in a deep breath, his face growing grave. "Consider it, Emily. We are able to keep you safe. We can prevent you from falling with him. But if you don't assist us, you'll be held accountable when everything explodes out."

I felt cornered and turned my head away as my heart thumped in my chest.

In a quiet, almost empathetic voice, he replied, "I know it's a lot to think about. However, I'm offering you an escape route. A way to protect yourself."

I shook my head and swallowed. "No."

Richards put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Suit yourself. But keep in mind that you might regret you had chosen otherwise when the time comes, and it will come."

He turned and left me standing there, my head whirling, after saying that.

Before I drove home, I spent a considerable amount of time sitting in my car absorbing Richards' entire speech again. I was to assist him in dismantling Monroe Enterprises. He wanted me to betray Ethan.

In actuality, though, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off.

Ethan's secrecy infuriated me, but I couldn't hand him up to the FBI. I couldn't turn on him in that way. Not after all that we had endured. However, I was being crushed by the weight of his falsehoods, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could bear it.

Ethan wasn't home when I arrived. The apartment had the same chilly, deserted feeling as our relationship had begun. With my head in my hands, I took a seat on the couch.

Is it possible for me to hide this from him? Should I?

I found myself torn between devotion and treachery, between Ethan and the FBI. Furthermore, I wasn't sure how long I could continue doing this until anything broke.