Page 12 of What Started In Deception

She stared down at the grass that they stood on. “You’re talking about my family. You’re asking me to betray my family.”

“I know. I wish I didn’t have to.” And he meant it, but this was the situation they were in. He had a case to work, and she was caught in the middle.

She met his gaze again. “You see politicians. But that’s my aunt and uncle. My cousin and his wife and their children. My grandmother.”

“So, protect them as much as you can.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I need to think. I need a few days to figure this out.”

“I can give you until tomorrow.”

She frowned. “Tomorrow? That’s not enough time.”

He shrugged, wishing he could be sorry that he was turning up the heat, but she was on the fence, and he needed her on his side. “That’s what I can give you.”

She pressed her fingers against her temple this time. “This is a huge decision.”

He nodded, trying his best to ignore the unmistakable vulnerability in her big hazel eyes. “It is, but this is where we’re at.”

She sighed as she shook her head.

“If we’re moving forward, we have just over three weeks to establish our cover. That’s not a lot of time.”

She swallowed as she shook her head again. “This is really happening.”

He nodded. “With or without you. My team and I will find a way in. This is the easiest.” He reached into his pocket for his card, handing it to her. “Call me when you’ve decided. One way or the other.”

“Okay.”

He walked away, knowing that she had a lot to think about. Lydia had some hard choices to make.

Lydia stood by her bedroom window, staring up at the half-moon as sleep eluded her for the second night in a row. It was well after one, and she was exhausted, yet she couldn’t lie still long enough to close her eyes.

Everything was suddenly a mess. Everything was suddenly different. Out of nowhere, her peaceful, perfect life had changed. The abrupt departure from her normal had been glaringly apparent when she’d foolishly packed up her raspberry crumble bars and headed off to book club like everything was still the same.

Her friends had laughed and talked about their summer plans while she’d struggled to keep up with the various conversations. Instead of celebrating her first full day without her students, her mind had raced while she occasionally glanced out Camille’s living room window, knowing that Special Agent Corddry had followed her again.

He’d kept his distance on the drive over, but she’d known that he was there, which she imagined he’d done on purpose. It was becoming clear that he wasn’t going away, and neither were her new problems.

She glanced at the card he’d handed her at the park, flicking at the corner of the cardstock with her thumb as she contemplated her options, none of which were good. Betray her family by helping Ty and the FBI gain access to Will and Uncle James or betray her family by keeping her mouth shut while she knew that the FBI was investigating them.

She’d been tempted to call Grandpa Roger and ask for his advice, but he and Grandma Gail were enjoying Europe for the summer. Plus, she’d worried that explaining the situation might constitute impediment to the investigation.

Grandpa Roger was an attorney. So was Will. Wouldn’t she be protected by attorney/client privilege?

It seemed like she would, but ultimately, she didn’t know, especially when Grandpa Roger had long since retired and Will himself was under investigation.

Nibbling at her lip, she stared at the card again.

She could take her chances and let Uncle James know what was going on. If the FBI arrested her, she could easily afford the best defense available, but if the media got wind of what was happening, it would cause serious problems for Uncle James’s campaign. Because he did indeed plan to announce his run for the presidency next spring.

“Damn,” she said as she sighed, knowing she was truly damned if she did and damned if she didn’t.

You can help me quietly. We can control the narrative as much as that’s possible…

She exhaled another long breath as Ty’s voice echoed in her head, loathing everything about him, but then she remembered how Grandpa Beau always used to say that when you were doing what was right, you couldn’t go wrong.

In this situation, helping Ty seemed to be the most right option when all of them were bad.