Catching the Storm

28. Playing the Hand You're Dealt

Won't be updating tomorrow cause I've got plans. But enjoy!

Crystal's POV

I watched her carefully. I didn't know what she really wanted. Why she was actually talking to me, but I suspected there was a bigger reason. She was, after all, the wife of a killer and completely unbothered by that.

And yet, the way she smiled, the soft way she spoke, was completely at odds with how I was feeling toward her. Something inside of me was screaming to walk away . . . no, to run away. There was no reason I should feel that way. After all, she had done nothing to me. But something about her just wasn't right. Then again, to be married to Kurt Branson, I suppose she would have to have a screw or two loose. But it was more than that.

Maybe it was because outwardly, everything she did, every move she made, was friendly, soft, like to put whoever she was with at ease. Like she knew what she was doing. And maybe I recognized it because that was how Jackson had first gotten to me.

I had every reason not to trust her. Every reason to be wary of her and yet everything she was doing to put try and put me at ease, was working. And as I studied her, I wasn't even sure she was aware she was doing it. It was just something that she seemed to do unconsciously. I also noticed that she was far younger than I had previously thought.

"He's really robbing the cradle with you," I muttered as I looked over at Branson who had his back to us, now on the phone.

She continued to smile. "I'm as married to Kurt, as you are to your . . . husband."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eyes. "I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it," She said as she turned to fully face me, and even with the mask over most of her face, I could see just how strikingly beautiful she was.

I copied her movements and turned to face her fully. "Then what have you got to do with Branson?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "We're business associates. Of sorts."

I stared at her for a beat. "I know what sort of business he's into, but what about you?"

She shrugged. "I have certain . . . talents."

"Care to elaborate?"

She locked eyes with me. "Now why would you want me to do that?"

I stared her down. "I'm just trying to understand why someone like you would voluntarily hang around him."

"Someone like me?" She laughed. "Crystal Carver, you have no idea who I am."

"And that puts me at a disadvantage since you clearly know who I am. I wonder, have you informed your husband of that fact?"

"I haven't said a thing to Kurt about that," She said as she took the drink the bartender placed in front of her. She shrugged. "You're trying to trick me into saying something I shouldn't." She once again locked eyes with me and she took a sip of the champagne. "It won't work."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Who says you haven't given me anything?"

"You do," She said as she set down her glass. "Your mannerisms, facial expressions . . . the fact that you're still here talking to me instead of watching Kurt." She looked over to Branson as she spoke.

I glanced at him briefly before turning back to her. "What are you doing with Branson?" I asked her.

She didn't even look at me this time. "He's getting something for me."