Chapter 19

Shelby looked ready to crack at any moment. So far the threat of jail and the loss of her life's dream hadn't been enough to make her spill. I needed something else, and knowing what that was, I waited for her to speak. When she still didn't, I cleared my throat.

"Two agents have obtained a search warrant for your place, and they're on their way over there as we speak. Drug sniffing dogs will be brought along with them, and if they find anything, you'll go away for a long time."

"Nothing can be proven," she whispered.

"You're looking at jail time in Colorado, and even more in California when you're identified by some of those we'd already arrested back in Los Angeles. They have told us all about Gemini, and knowing the one in the ATM photograph isn't you, there's every chance they could still positively ID you. There's no way out but to tell me the truth."

Shelby got up at that moment, and I saw the slight wince as she did so. Visions of her body swaying as I lashed up and down her frame with my favorite single tail did enter my thoughts but I couldn't think about sex now. If I couldn't convince her to give up whoever she was protecting, my submissive would very likely go to jail as I threatened.

My submissive. I'd never before considered any of the women I'd scened with over the years to be mine, but I did with this one. Something about Shelby had caught my eye, and once I had her under my hand, she crawled beneath my skin. Now, she was as essential to me as the blood flowing through my veins. If I wanted even the slightest potential of having a future with her, I needed to fix this present issue.

"I wish we were at Syn right now so I could tie you up until you came to your senses."

"Where I'm sure you would torture me for information," she replied.

"I would." There was no need to beat around the bush.

"Meeting you was the worst mistake I've ever made in my life."

Her words stung, and this time I was the one to wince, only from a different kind of pain. Shelby looked straight at me, and I could see the fire in her eyes. She truly believed herself to hate me, which was usually a good thing. It was normally something I'd take great pride in fucking out of her. There was no time for any of that. In fact, I'd asked my boss to give me a few hours before he did move forward with warrants and such. That time was rapidly dwindling away.

"If it keeps your tight ass out of jail, it'll be the best thing to have happened to you."

She huffed. "You have nothing on me."

"We don't need the physical evidence. There's enough to haul you in right now, and a half dozen others ready to single you out in a lineup to further their own cases. If you don't believe me and want to take that risk, so be it. I'm only going to ask you once more before I let you deal with the consequences all on your own."

"What do you want to know?"

"Who is that woman?"

Shelby turned away, and I knew at that moment that whoever she was protecting meant more to her than me, any future we might have, and even her own life. There was no convincing her no matter how hard I tried. Doing the only thing I could, I said the last two words she would likely hear from me again.

"Goodbye, Shelby."

With those words, I then turned and walked to the door. I had my hand on the knob when I heard her clear her throat.

"Carley. The woman you saw in those photos is my cousin."

Relief filled me, especially because she had finally told me the truth. I turned back around and she was now sobbing into her open hands. I wanted to go to her, so I did. As I hauled her into my arms and pressed my chin to the top of her head, I inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo. I also held her as she sobbed, her body heaving heavily with each one. We stood there for several minutes before she pushed me away.

"If she's your cousin, why does she look just like you?" I asked her as something struck me, and something I knew would need to be explained.

"We're quaternary twins. My parents each had an identical twin. In fact, her mother and mine were sisters, and our fathers were brothers as well. They met decades ago at a twins camp, and Carley and I were born very close together. We're basically cousins who look identical to one another."

I heaved a sigh. This entire case had been one discovery after another, and knowing I would need to try to explain this to my boss, I released her from my hold, then pulled out my cell phone. Once I had a link to an article on them, I pulled up my contacts. Soon, I had the cell phone to my ear as I waited for Bob to pick up.

"Warden, I have a name for you," I told him.

"This better be good. What do you have for me, Bradford?"

"Gemini is not Shelby Prescott, but actually Carley Prescott. They're identical cousins. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm sending you something..."

I then attached the article to a text message and sent it, then waited for him to read it. I also tried my best to explain what it was, although I likely got some facts wrong. He did pull up Carley in the California database, and I heard his disbelief through the line.

"Damn, if this is right, she's been in the system the entire time and will go away for even longer."

"She was. I think we need to go ahead and catch her in the act. The sting you were talking about, let's move forward–"

"No," Shelby cried out before rushing over to me. "I won't go along with this."

"Who's that?" Bob demanded to know.

"It's Shelby."

"She's not entirely in the clear yet. Does she know that?"

I growled low at his words. "Yes, she does."

"I do what?" Shelby demanded to know, and when my boss went to speak again, I cleared my throat.

"Hold on. Let me talk to her for a minute." Not waiting to hear his response, I set the cell phone down, then pulled Shelby away from it before continuing. "You're still on the DEA's radar, and without evidence exonerating you and implicating Carley, you're still a suspect."

"I understand that," she told me, but I wondered whether she really did or not.

"We have to catch your cousin red-handed so you can be cleared. A sting is the best–"

She grabbed my arm with both hands. "I can't trick Carley by setting her up. She's been trying to turn her life around, and if I–"

"She's been selling potent drugs to kids, then letting them die, Shelby. You can't seriously think she has turned over a new leaf."

"But I do. She came here for a new start. Yes, you likely have evidence in California, but everything here in Denver has been circumstantial at best. You want me to take the word of a man I barely know over the woman I've known my entire life. A woman who has my face, and finally my drive and ambition. I can't do it. I won't purposely set her up to fall."

She released me from her grip at that point, and I narrowed my eyes at her. Shelby wanted to see the good in her cousin, but anything she saw was nothing more than a ruse. Carley wanted Shelby to think she had changed, when the truth was that her cousin simply came here to hide out until the heat in California died down. Only it wouldn't. The longer Gemini was out on the streets, the more people would die.

I had no idea how to make my submissive understand that. She was currently pacing back and forth in front of me, and the pain on her face was indescribable. Forgetting my lot in life, I was now thinking purely as a Dominant wanting nothing more than to draw her back into my arms and kiss the sorrow off of her beautiful face. I'd then make her forget everything, including her own name, as I shed each layer of hurt and betrayal from her.

Only I couldn't because I had sworn to do my duty when I'd signed on with the Drug Enforcement Agency. While I had some control over what I did and where I went, they still owned my life. I had a job to do, and it wasn't always easy. Still, I needed to find some way to help Shelby while not jeopardizing the case. As I tried to think quickly, something finally came to mind.

Moving back over to her, I gently clutched her arms. "Shelby," I rasped, and she looked up at me with tear-stricken eyes. "If you don't want us to set a trap for her, there's only one other option short of bringing you in and waiting for her to develop enough of a conscience to tell the truth."

"What would it be?" she asked nervously while shifting on her feet.

"We won't set up a sting, but we have to follow her."

"And if you find nothing?"

"We will find something because despite whatever she's told you about wanting to create a new life for herself, her old one is still her current one, and it's followed her here to Colorado."

"I really do believe she's changed," she tried to plead, and I finally shrugged.

"Only time will tell." I then moved away from her and returned to my cell phone.

"What do you mean that we won't trap her?" Bob asked the moment I put the phone back to my ear.

"Let's move the surveillance from Shelby to Carley and give it a few days to see what happens."

"Shelby could tip her cousin off, then we'll never find anything," he pointed out which had been my worry, too.

"Let's put her up somewhere–"

"Like a safe house?" he asked.

"Yeah. We'll have Shelby tell her cousin that she has to leave town on business immediately. Once alone, Carley will carry on with her life without having to hide things from her cousin and current roommate."

"So we set a trap another way, and we wait for her to fall into it."

"Something like that," I said, and I noticed the widening of Shelby's eyes. Speaking to her this time, I softened my expression. "Giving her free rein to be whoever she is will either confirm our suspicions or debunk them. We're not going to coerce her into doing anything, but rather watch in wait for her to do what she's never stopped doing since leaving Cali."

"There has to be another way."

"There isn't, so what's it going to be?"

Shelby relented in that moment, and the resignation only added to her current pain. I then got the sign off from my boss, and by the time I hung up the call, I had Shelby make one of her own. She told her cousin she needed to fly out to California right away to talk business all while letting her know she'd be back in a few days. By the time that call ended, my submissive looked up at me, and this time I didn't even hesitate to pull her into my arms. I held her in them for several minutes until there was a knock on the door. Leaving her to handle her call with the hotel investors, I left to arrange her lodging accommodations.