Withholding Evidence by Rachel Grant Read Free Book Online Page B

think you should know I’m married.”
    Erica snorted. “Yeah, so what is the deal with the SEAL?”
    Trina rubbed her temples. “You didn’t just say that.”
    Erica shrugged. “Unintentional rhyme. But I still want details.”
    “There’s no deal. No details.”
    “For what it’s worth, Alec says great things about Keith,” Mara ventured. “He really respects the guy.”
    “Alec can go to hell. His friend’s an ass.”
    Erica sat back in her chair and studied Trina. “I’m thinking Treen didn’t get laid last night. What do you think, Mara?”
    “If she did, it was awful,” Mara replied. “So which is it? Did you drink too much to enjoy the show, or did he have trouble?” She grinned. “That could explain the roses.”
    Trina nearly spewed her drink. She sort of felt like she should defend Keith’s manhood, but decided against it. “He pissed me off before things could get really interesting, and I left.”
    “Shit. No wonder you’re so pissy today,” Erica said. “Sweetie, next time, use him for sex, then leave. Because you are no fun today.”
    She winked at Trina, who couldn’t help it and laughed. Then Trina grimaced. “There won’t be a next time.” She stirred her bowl of stew and wondered why she’d ordered such a heavy meal when she wasn’t hungry. “He lied to me.”
    Her friends all bristled in outraged solidarity, making her feel a tad guilty because she supposed he hadn’t lied so much as he’d played her.
    But that still pissed her off. She should have known. She should have questioned him immediately. But she’d glommed on to the excuse he gave her to leave the party and ended up feeling like a fool.
    “Well, Senior Chief Hatcher is a vast improvement over Perry Carlson,” Erica said, filling the silent void. “Please tell me you are done with that infatuation.”
    Trina felt her cheeks flush. She hated being obvious. “Perry Carlson is a vapid pig. He believes I was a token hire. Because, you know, they just give away PhDs in military history to women. As if I didn’t have to work twice as hard to get into the program, let alone finish it. And the navy, they are so known for their eagerness to hire a woman to work in one of their many, many penis-only departments.”
    “You need a night out,” Mara said. “Dancing, or just drinking?”
    “Drinking,” Trina answered. “Lots and lots of drinking.” She glared at the three women: one married, one engaged, the last with a boyfriend who was crazy about her. “And no men.”

C HAPTER F IVE

    K EITH SAT IN his Cruiser in a parking lot outside Trina’s office building and tapped the steering wheel as he debated his next step. He needed to do something big. A grand gesture that would win him another shot with her. He had a feeling the roses hadn’t cut it.
    Since he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted, what could he do?
    The thing he wasn’t ready to do was give up and let her go, although that should top his list of options. Something about her had gotten under his skin. Maybe it was the way she stood her ground or the way she called him on his bullshit. All he knew was that if he gave up now, he might be stuck with a lifetime of wondering what if . He already had one regret to haunt him. He didn’t need to add another one.
    His meeting with Rav had been long, informative, and opened a door Keith had never thought would be open to him. If Rav were elected to the Senate, he’d have to hand off the running of Raptor—stepping out completely to avoid Senate ethics violations, because Raptor held government contracts. He’d been searching internally for a replacement, but problems with the Alaska compound meant the best candidate for taking over was needed there for the foreseeable future.
    Rav had decided to recruit elsewhere, and he wanted Keith to take over as CEO.
    The thought was…mind-blowing.
    He was no dummy, but he’d attended all of one week of college. Hell, a big part of him felt Trina, with