Page 1 of False Evidence

Prologue

Upper Marlborough, Maryland

December

Alexandra Vargas would give anything to find a way to fall out of love with JT Talon. Given the way he’d been treating her for the last several months, one would think it would be easy. But her heart made excuses for him.

He was grieving both the loss of his respect for his father, and now that Joseph Talon Sr. had entered hospice, he was grieving the man’s impending death.

She paused and studied her reflection before she applied eyeliner. More than anything, she wanted to stay home tonight, drink spiked eggnog, and hate watchLove Actually. She disliked ninety percent of the story threads but still found the movie compellingly watchable.

But her annual holiday viewing wasn’t in the cards tonight. No, she was JT’s date for the Talon & Drake end-of-year party. It capped off a week in which the top employees from each branch had flown in for a summit, and now that the big meetings were done, it was time to play.

The problem was, engineers didn’t know how to play, not to mention that JT was in a foul mood and had been for months. Still, she’d made the choice to stand beside him when his life imploded two and a half years ago. She and JT had officially broken up when she called off the wedding four years ago, but they’d been on the path to reconciliation when Joseph Talon Sr. was arrested, and it had been so easy to slide back into the role of girlfriend because JT had been hurting and needed her.

Tonight, she’d play her part as his date, dressed pretty and wearing the expensive necklace he’d given her as an early Christmas present. At least Erica and Lee would be there. Lee didn’t work for the company, but he was one-third owner, having purchased Edward Drake’s shares when he went to prison. Technically, the company name should be changed to Talon & Scott, but Lee didn’t want his name on the letterhead. They were moving to just call it T&D as a soft rebrand.

In a lot of ways, tonight’s party really mattered on that journey for the company. Two and a half years wasn’t a lot of time for an engineering firm to shift direction, but JT had pulled it off and he deserved this celebration.

It was a shame he was too angry to enjoy it.

She finished applying makeup and pulled on the couture gown JT had insisted she get for this event. He and his father were too much alike in some ways. The women at their side must always be perfect and dressed in a manner suitable for the pages ofVogue. Joe had been a politician with his sights set on the presidency, and JT had intended to follow in all of his father’s footsteps.

Alexandra had been a contender for the role of political wife, but she’d conceded a week before the wedding. Still, she dressed for the part to please JT, because the times he surfaced from the darkness and truly saw her were reminiscent of the early days, when falling in love with him had been as easy as breathing.

She looked with longing at her yoga pants and sweatshirt. Tomorrow night, she’d make a giant bowl of popcorn and binge-watch all the holiday movies. Maybe Erica would join her.

“What’s taking so long?” JT shouted from the living room. “We need to go.”

She growled under her breath. They had plenty of time.

After putting on the necklace, she sat on the bed and fastened the stilettos he insisted she wear. In the early days, once she’d gotten used to accepting his gifts, she’d loved this part. The shoes. The clothes. Even the jewels. It had made her feel beautiful and powerful, and JT had showered her with the best kind of attention.

But that magic was long gone, and none of it excited her anymore.

She wanted comfy clothes and an evening at home. She wanted to make love with him when the mood struck in whatever room they happened to be in. She wanted lazy weekend mornings.

But if she couldn’t have any of that, she wanted a baby, which was the one thing JT would never give her.

It was one of the reasons she’d called off the wedding. But still, four years later, even though they’d broken up so she could find a man to love who also wanted children, she was still with him and only him.

Because she loved him and didn’t know how to stop.

The problem was, ever since the fallout with his father, he was no longer emotionally available to her. She loved him but didn’thavehim. And she didn’t have a baby. And as long as things continued on this trajectory, she’d never have either.

She placed her hand on her belly. She’d realized an hour ago that her period was late—nearly two weeks—and had spent a frantic half hour searching the cabinet for a pregnancy test, but those would be at the apartment she shared with Kendall, not at the Talon Maryland estate.

She told herself it was just stress and resumed getting ready for the party.

If she were pregnant, JT would go through the roof.

She stood and twirled before the mirror, checking her appearance for flaws before leaving the bedroom to face the love of her life.

He wore a tailored suit and looked achingly handsome.

JT had celebrated his fortieth birthday in September, and the years looked great on him. Tall, with thick dark hairandbrown, brooding eyes. He had his own dojo in DC where he worked out with Lee and Curt and a few other friends on a regular basis. He was even more fit than he’d been when they first met nine years ago.

He was brilliant, handsome, toned, and extremely wealthy. During the year after she called off the wedding, when they were truly broken up, tabloids had published photos of him with models and famous athletes by his side. He’d been auditioning high-profile women for the role of politician’s wife, she’d presumed.