Conned (24 page)

I started to shake my head, but a throat clearing behind me
pulled on my attention.

I turned to see Emily standing there with her wide emerald
eyes on me and the officer who I had asked to bring her to the station.

"Saw the shiner you gave Dawson," he said with
amusement.

Jules was still latched onto my arm and I attempted to shake
her off, but Emily looked away before I could and started walking down the
hall, her expression impassive.

"Good job tonight. I'll see you later," he said
and jogged to catch up with her.

Everything inside of me wanted to go after her, wanted to
tackle the guy to the ground when I saw him grasp her upper arm to lead her
across the station. Tackling him would feel damn good, but going after Emily
right now could screw everything up.

Jules was still waiting for an answer and instead of giving
her one, I pushed her hand off of me and walked away from her. There was only
one person I wanted to be with and she was going to think I hated her until I
could prove otherwise.

I made it outside and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Ash
had called again so I called her back, preparing for a shit storm of questions.
She answered on the first ring.

"Conall! What the hell? I've been trying to call
you."

"I know, Ash. I've been busy."

"Well, what's going on? Is Emily okay? Did her brother
confess? Did you talk to her?"

"She's fine other than the fact that she can't stand to
look at me. Yes, her brother did confess and no, I didn't talk to her."

She sighed, "Why are you boys so dumb?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You're an idiot if you think she can't
stand to look at you. She loves you. She's probably just really embarrassed. I
know
I
would be. God, I left town because I was mortified about what
happened with Lucas. Give her a minute."

She was right. I had every chance to go to her, but I had
been too scared. I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing the same thing. But
seeing Jules whispering in my ear probably didn't help the situation.

"So? When will you know?"

I didn't have to clarify to know that she was asking about
the deal with Lucien. I'd told her about it and if it hadn't been for Luke, she
would probably still be crying tears of happiness. She'd been so damn emotional
since that night at dinner when Lucas had to carry her home because she was so
drunk. I'd have to ask him if there was something going on that he wasn't
telling me. The wedding was still months away so it couldn't be stress. Not yet
at least.

"Tomorrow. She'll see the judge tomorrow."

"Good. I'm guessing she'll only be there for a few days
at the most from what you told me," she said excitedly.

"Ash," I started.

"Okay, I'll shut up about it. We're not focusing on
that anyway. You are going to need my help, brother. I have a plan and I think
you're going to want to hear it."

Emily

Emily was still shocked that she had only spent three nights
in jail, but she wasn't going to ask any questions. They had released her with
instructions to stay in town until further notice and that was that. Rayce was
going to prison and she was needed to testify against him for the attempted
murder of Deputy Givens and the assault on Deputy Shaw. After the last couple
months of lying about being the only witness to a murder, now she was an actual
witness to her brother's deranged actions.

He had cooperated well enough to ensure that her part in
Ripley's case was due to a manipulation. Her brother may have been greedy and
insane, but she knew some part of that boy she knew still cared about her. It
was enough to give her some kind of closure.

She spoke with him before she had been put in that cell and
he didn't apologize for his actions, but he didn't need to. She didn't need an
apology, just a reason to go on with the rest of her life and not blame herself
anymore.

She could do that.

She
would
do that.

She'd told him she would always love him no matter what. He
stayed silent.

That was the last she saw of him and she was prepared to
face him again. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel the heavy
weight of guilt over what had become of his life and this loneliness would fade
with time.

Captain Miller said she couldn't stay at the apartment her
and the marshals had been using, but he gave her directions to a place that
would take her in for free until she could get back on her feet. She needed to
call the school and see if they would take her back. Substituting had been
fulfilling, but she wanted to teach her own classes again and she would need
the money as soon as possible.

She took a cab from the police station where she had met with
Miller and tried not to search out Conall over the heads of people standing
around. After seeing Julia all over him, not seeing him was probably a better
idea. She knew he didn't want anything to do with Julia, but still… he had a
life to get back to and she didn't want to interfere.

The cab pulled down a street dotted with only a few houses
and stopped at a nice looking house on the far end. It wasn't the Brannock's
beautiful home, but it looked just as welcoming.

She climbed out of the cab and thanked the driver, paying
him the last little bit of cash she had in her wallet. He took off without
another word and she started up the path to the front porch, wondering who on
earth would take her in for free.

She would have to call the school right away or pick up a
part time job to make a little money until she could find something more
permanent. With a record now, she couldn't imagine it would be easy.

She climbed the steps to the front door and knocked. Captain
Miller told her they had already sent her suitcases the day before, so the only
things she had were the clothes on her back and her purse, which was pretty
much empty now.

The door opened and her feet stumbled.

Conall stood in front of her with a tentative smile and she
pinched herself on the arm to make sure she wasn't still sleeping in that tiny
cell on that uncomfortable cot. She wasn't. He was really in front of her and
her traitorous heart started beating again.

"I-I don't understand…"

He reached out and grasped her hand, gently pulling her
inside and shutting the door. The inside was even more welcoming than the
outside. Sure it looked a little like a bachelor pad with the biggest flat
screen she'd ever seen mounted to the wall and very little furniture. The
pictures on the walls were of him and his family, though, and she felt a lump
form in her throat.

No pictures were ever taken of her family and she wished she
could at least have some kind of memento of the years Rayce was happy with her.

"As you can tell, this is my home," he said gently
from behind her, still holding her hand in his.

"Why am I here?"

He turned her around and pulled her closer so she had to
look up to see his eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and his thumbs traced
the dark circles under her eyes and down to her lips where his gaze lingered
for a moment. She licked her lips without realizing it and he groaned softly,
his eyes smoldering.

"Because I love you and I want you here with me."

"But I-"

"I was an idiot. I know a lot of people wouldn't
understand, but I do, and I love you too much to let something like what
happened come between us. You're mine, remember? I take care of what's
mine."

She couldn't breathe and biting her cheek wasn't helping to
hold back the tears. He caught some with his fingers before bending down and
kissing away the others. He kissed every inch of her face and she closed her
eyes, savoring the feel of him, before she offered him more, tilting her chin
up so he would get the idea that she needed his mouth on hers.

"Plus," he brushed his lips lightly over hers, but
didn't give her what she wanted. "I'm not really one to talk anymore when
it comes to breaking the law."

She was confused, but couldn't really focus on anything but
the feel of him kissing her so tenderly. He still wanted her and she still wanted
him, that's all she knew.

"Say something, baby. I need to know what you
want."

She opened her eyes and saw the apprehension in his, mixed
with arousal, hope, even fear. She loved this man. Loved everything about him.
His strength, his loyalty, the way he protected his family. The way he
protected
her.
She loved him and couldn't believe he still wanted her.
"I love you, Conall. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh," he soothed and smoothed his thumb over her
bottom lip. "It's over and it's not your fault, okay?"

She sighed and closed her eyes once more. "You're all
I've got now," she said, hoping he understood how much his words meant to
her. "I realize that I can't blame myself for Rayce's choices. If he would
have ended up in a foster home, he might have gone down the same path. I gave
him all the love I could in the time I had to give it."

"And it was more than enough," he said firmly.
"You have
two
brothers now, Em. Brothers that would die for you if
they had to. A sister that will drive you crazy just because she can."

She chuckled and happiness filled her, putting all the
pieces of her heart back together and replacing the missing ones she lost so
long ago.

"And you have me." He kissed the corner of her
mouth, "I love who you are, I'll protect who you are, and I'll die doing
it."

Another tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his
lips before hovering over her mouth, sharing her breath. "You've changed
everything
for me. I've waited my whole life for you, Emily. Now that I've got you,
nothing," he pulled back and looked her in the eyes, those beautiful
sapphires burrowing deeper into her soul, "
nothing
will take you
away from me." He held her face between his hands and she melted into him.
"Just let me love you, now."

His lips pressed firmly against hers and the kiss started
out tender and slow, then desperate and consuming. He moved his hands down her
arms to her waist, rounded over her hips until he was gripping her backside,
and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and then they were moving.

He carried her down a hall into a bedroom and she didn't
care to look around just yet. She locked her arms around him as he carried her
to the bed and they both fell onto it, never breaking the kiss.

Lifting his weight off of her, he trailed kisses down her
neck and further down over her shirt until he stopped at the hem, curled his
fingers around it and started to push it up, his lips following the path back
up.

"I've missed you so much, Emily. Thank God we got that
judge to only give you three nights, I would have gone crazy if it had been any
longer," he mumbled, his lips caressing her belly.

She reached down and tugged on his hair to lift his face.
She didn't know how his words could have penetrated her mind at a time like
this, but they did.

"What do you mean 'we'?"

He stared up at her before resting his hand just under the
swell of her breast and moved back up to kiss her chin and lips.

"I made a deal with Lucien Ripley. He's actually a good
guy if you overlook the fact that he's a successful criminal."

"Lucien?"

"That's how I found out about Rayce."

"Oh," she replied and remembered her time spent in
that damn interrogation room, listening to all the things her little brother
had done, including his arrangement with Lucien Ripley. That's what Conall had
been talking about when he suggested he had broken the law, too.

"The guy said he actually admired you. You teach for
his cousin's niece or something and he thinks you are - and I quote - 'a
fucking angel'." He was grinning down at her and his fingers were trailing
back and forth over her heated skin, making it hard for her to concentrate.

"Oh," she breathed.

"Would you like me to tell you what happened?"

She shook her head, "Later."

He smiled that beautiful smile that showed his perfect white
teeth. His eyes flickered with heat and something she could only guess was
love.

"Agreed."

He moved back down her body and pressed his lips where he
had left off, kissing her belly and pushing her shirt up and over her breasts
before his lips followed.

She gripped his shoulders and moved her hands over the
glorious muscles in his back. He kissed along the edge of her bra along the
swell of her breast and then lifted the shirt up and over her head. His hand
moved beneath her to the clasp of her bra and he made quick work of removing it
before his mouth went back to work.

"I can't get over how beautiful you are," he
whispered against her nipple and wrapped his lips around it, making her cry
out. She held him against her and shifted her hips, the pressure already
building. "I can't wait any longer, baby. I need you," he growled.

She lifted her hips again and his hand smoothed down her
stomach to the front of her jeans. He tore at the button and before long, she
was naked and sprawled out in front of him. He sat back on his knees and gazed
down at her. She knew her skin was flushed and the heat of his eyes was like a
caress as they moved down her body.

"Please," she begged.

He made quick work of his clothes and was back on top of her
in the next moment, kissing her collar bone and running his hands all over her
skin. She was surrounded by him.

"You know you don't have to beg, love. I'll give you
anything." His fingers slipped between her legs and found her hot and wet.
He pressed one inside of her and groaned. "Damn, baby. You need me as much
as I need you, huh?"

"Con…"

His lips crashed down on hers and consumed her. His tongue
explored her mouth and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he
pressed inside of her, filling her the way she remembered.

They moved in rhythm together, clutching tightly to one
another and giving each other everything. He pulled her legs tighter around his
hips and lifted her until they were both upright, facing each other, her on his
lap, still moving together.

She was close. So close.

"Con, I…"

"Let go, Emily. Let me have it."

She knew his words had a double meaning and for the first
time in her life, she finally let it go. She didn't need to hold onto the hurt
or the memories that caused her grief. The void that had been in her life for
so long, the worry, the struggles. She let them go and let Conall take it from
her.

She cried out her release and he buried his face in her neck
and joined her, taking it from her and giving back more than she could ever ask
for.

A family of crazy people who she loved and who loved her
back.

A future with him.

The End

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