Conned (25 page)

"Another one bites the dust," I sang into the
phone.

"Shut up, Gus Gus. You're next," Conall grumbled
back at me.

He had just informed me that Emily had moved in with him
back in Denver and things were going really well so far.

"So my big brother is shacking up with a good looking
blonde who has a record," I teased. "That's hot."

He sighed into the phone and I could just see him shaking
his head and clenching his fists. He probably wanted to punch me.

"God, I want to punch you right now," he confirmed
and I threw my head back with laughter.

"Good. I wouldn't be me if I didn't tempt my siblings
into beating the shit out of me. Ash got enough hits in to last her a while,
but you, my brother, were too busy falling in love to pay any attention to me.
I feel your pain."

He chuckled and the twinge I always felt in my chest when I
was away from my family twisted. I missed them already.

A rhythmic thumping sound came from the other side of my
bedroom wall and I rolled my eyes.

"What the hell
is
that?" Con asked,
irritating me more that he could hear the noise over the phone.

I shot to my feet and started for my front door. "It's
my God damn neighbor. She's always turning on some bullshit music and blasting
it so loud that it wakes me up."

I'd been working late shifts for months now and spent the
mornings catching up on some much needed shuteye. My neighbor, a short, red
haired pain in the ass, knew that and didn't give a damn about it. At least
three times a week, she blasted some kind of kid music and annoyed the hell out
of me.

At first, I just let it go and started going to sleep the
minute I got home to make sure I got enough, but the last couple weeks since
I'd been back in town, it had been too much. It was time to say something.

Conall was laughing, "Serves you right, man. You need
to be nicer to her. By the way, how are things going with that girl from the
internet?"

"Great, I'm meeting her in person next week and
by
the way
, I'm nice to her. I just don't like cookies that taste like
cardboard and thirteen year old chocolate."

When she first moved in several months ago, she had tried to
be a good neighbor and bake me some cookies. She was hot, so I accepted them
and planned on asking her out later on.

"It's the thought that counts," he mumbled.

"Not when it forces me to spend two hours on the toilet
at work."

He laughed so hard I had to pull the phone away from my ear.
Asshole.

Yeah, I wasn't exaggerating either. Ended up getting bottles
of Tums and laxatives with big bows tied around them on my desk for the next
couple weeks. It wasn't pretty.

When she brought me another plate, I politely declined and
it ended up causing some tension. Found out she wasn't as angelic as I thought
and she was an even worse cook. We'd had several arguments about her cooking
when it made the entire floor smell like bigfoot had taken a big old shit in
the hallway. The stench lasted a week and we'd been enemies ever since. Well,
maybe not enemies. We just pretty much hated each other and let the other know
by means of little pranks here and there. They weren't terribly mean, but one
actually ended up getting the cops called on me.

I'd found a way into her apartment and left a 'Cooking for
Dummies' book on her kitchen counter. I was in and out faster than you could
say
'I was just trying to help'
and no one saw me, but she knew who'd
left it the second she laid eyes on it.

Thank the good Lord the officers who showed up were ones I'd
worked with frequently, otherwise I would have had to deal with more crap for
another few weeks. Revenge would have been sweet, but the consequences were
unpredictable.

I yanked open my front door and started down the hall a
short distance to her apartment. I wasn't going to put up with that crappy
music anymore. I heard Emily's voice in the background and Conall could barely
stop laughing long enough to tell her what was going on.

He'd been a lot happier since meeting Emily, a lot more laid
back, even with all the shit that went down with her brother. It's too bad she
didn't grow up with a good family the way we had, but what better way to get
one than with us, right?

"I gotta go, Con. Time to throw down the law."

"Whatever, Gus. Emily says hi. Let me know how it goes
next week. We'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah. Later."

I pocketed my phone and took a deep, cleansing breath to
calm my nerves. I wasn't angry enough to accidently disrespect the woman, but I
was definitely at the end of my rope. Work was getting crazy with all the kids
gone missing and it was hard to not bring that shit home with you. It amazed me
how many parents just let their children play around unsupervised.

Hello people! We live in Detroit. It's not purgatory, but it
isn't the golden gates of heaven either.

Con's reminder that I was going to be meeting someone great
next week calmed me down. I hadn't meant to tell Con about it and if I found
out he spilled the beans to Luke, there would be hell to pay. Being a detective
for missing children didn't really leave much time for me to go out and meet
people. I'd joined a dating site in secret, one that didn't give real names or
pictures, just to see what happened and ended up talking to the coolest girl I
had ever met. She was funny and smart and I had a good feeling she was
absolutely gorgeous. We'd agreed to not send any pictures once we started
talking since we both didn't feel comfortable with it. But we talked on the
phone a couple times a week and it was a miracle I hadn't been caught while I
was back in Oakland.

I pounded on the door and waited. A few seconds later, the
music turned down and I heard giggling from the other side.

The door opened a crack and there she was, hiding behind the
chain with a knowing smile.
Damn, she's pretty
, I thought. Too bad she's
an evil-

"Can I help you, Fergus?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, Red, you can. The music is too loud, has been
for weeks."

She rolled her eyes and shut the door. My jaw dropped in
shock at her rudeness until I heard the sound of the chain and she opened the
door a moment later, a little wider so I could just see inside her apartment.
It was a mess.

Figures.

"My name isn't Red, it's Aiden."

Same difference. The meaning for Aiden is 'fire'. She has
red hair. Big fucking coincidence if you ask me.

What? I like to know that stuff just like Ash does. Give me
a break.

"Whatever, Red. Just turn the music down. I gotta get
some sleep."

"Don't ask
me
. It's not
my
music."

"Then whose is it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at
her.

She smiled and took a step back, opening the door a little
wider. Behind her was a tiny little red haired beauty dressed in a princess
gown and holding a wand with a heart on the end of it. The top of her head
would probably reach up to my mid thigh, she was so small. Her little smile
looked like an angel's and she giggled when Red told her to say hi.

I swallowed, knowing exactly what I'd gotten myself into.

"Fergus, did you have something to tell, Little
Aiden?" Red asked sarcastically.

I turned my eyes to her and shot daggers into the dark brown
of hers.

"You named you're daughter after you?" I asked,
trying to be an asshole on purpose.

She rolled her eyes again, "She isn't my daughter.
She's my niece. My sister liked the name and when she came out with red hair,
it seemed fitting."

"She's the reason for the music? Almost every
day?"

She smiled again and I felt my stomach flip. Why'd my arch
enemy have to be so smokin' hot?

"Yep. I watch her while her mom works. She's a nurse so
it changes every so often."

I swallowed again and looked back down at the little girl.
She had freckles covering her face and a little button nose that actually
looked a lot like Red's.

"Um…"

"Yes?" she pressed, and for the first time in my
life, I turned away from a challenge.

Just walked away without a word.

I heard her chuckle softly and clenched my fists. Then
Little Aiden giggled and squealed, making my heart do a tiny flip. It was a
beautiful laugh.

I hurried into my apartment and leaned against the door.

"What the hell was that?" I asked no one and
rubbed my sternum, hoping to relieve the panic in my chest.

I don't know how long I stood there, but my phone chimed
with a text message, pulling my thoughts back to reality. I loved kids, always
wanted some for my own. That little girl was a wakeup call, though. She tugged
at my heart with just a smile.

My phone showed a text from MysteryGirl. We hadn't given our
names either in case we decided this whole thing wasn't going to work out. She
was definitely my type of woman. Thought like me, had a dirty mind, and I
couldn't wait to lay eyes on her.

MysteryGirl: Why do neighbors suck?

I smiled.

We had a lot in common.

Read Gus' story in the next book of The Brannock Siblings
series:

Missing

Coming Soon

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please
take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer.

Thanks!

Jessica Wilde

About the Author

I live in Morgan Utah with my husband, daughter, and dog,
Kolo. I write as often as my active daughter will let me and my husband has the
patience of a saint. I find inspiration from dreams, people I meet, and life
experiences. When I write, I usually end up drinking one too many cans of Peace
Tea, eating three too many Fruit by the Foot fruit snacks, and accidently
kicking my pup and best buddy, Kolo, too many times since he loves to sleep
under my desk at my feet.

I started writing as a teen, but my fear of the unknown won
out every time and I threw everything out. After becoming a mother and deciding
to stay at home to raise my beautiful little girl, I tried again when I
couldn't stop thinking of ideas. I loved every minute, every hour of sleep
lost, and every character that came to life in my mind.

It's strange, but my favorite moments are when I have
writer's block because I can turn to my husband and find inspiration through
him by just doing what we do best together. Talking, laughing, and just being
in love. He doesn't like to read, but he never stops encouraging me to keep
going.

Writing has become an important part of my life and every
book has a special place in my heart.

Connect with Jessica Wilde

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7373464.Jessica_Wilde

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJessicaWilde

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Jessicawildeauthor

Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/JessicaWilde9

Acknowledgements

There are many people that have encouraged me, supported me,
and given me inspiration and love as I have worked to get my books out into the
world. Without them, none of this would have been possible.

I never expected Leverage to be such a success and there
were many moments where I found myself in tears because of all the amazing
feedback I received. Ask my husband, he heard the screams of joy and had to
stop what he was doing, even if it was sleep, to 'come see this'. I can't tell
you how happy it makes me to know that readers enjoy the results of my crazy
brain never shutting off. I fall in love with every single one of my
characters. They come to life as I write and to see so many people experiencing
the same thing as they read has been truly fulfilling for me.

My first two books, Every One of Me and Our Time, were
written over a long period of time and started out as a secret. I was terrified
to put my work out there and I was new to the world of self-publishing. It was
difficult to get the word out, but accomplishing what little I had was a big
deal for me.

Conned has been quite the challenge since Conall is such a
stoic and silent character, but there is so much to love about him and writing
his story just made my love for this family grow. I hope you love him and
appreciate his place in the Brannock family as much as I do.

Now, I have lots of people to thank. People who have been
there for me from the beginning and many that I have run into along the way who
have made a huge difference in getting my books out to all of you.

Thank you!:

To my husband, without your love and support, I honestly
don't think I would have ever come close to finishing a single story. You know
my brain never shuts off, but your encouragement to just write it and your
patience with me as I've locked myself away for hours at a time, is the biggest
reason why I can say 'I did it!'. For all of your help with ideas for
characters, covers, scenes, and titles, when you had to wake up, drop
everything, or just listen for a few minutes. I love you with all my heart.

To my daughter, you are still so young and one day you might
read Mommy's books. It's because of you that I write. I want you to know that
even when the world knocks you down and keeps you there until you feel you will
break, love will always be there. Whether it is from me, Daddy, the family, or
the man who steals your heart, you will always have love. I pray each day that
you will find true love in your future. There are a lot of frogs to kiss along
the way, but just remember that your prince will love you completely,
unconditionally, and he will be the luckiest man in the world to have it
returned by you. You are so special to me and I will always be here for you.

To my families, the one I grew up with and the one I've come
to love so much over the years. Thank you for your love and support, for your
excitement to find out what happens next, for your help in getting the word out
there, for your ideas and for listening. For the hours of babysitting you have
done so I could put more time in. This wouldn't be possible without you. I have
a lot of stories to tell (Mom, you know this almost better than anyone), your
patience will always be appreciated.

And to those that I have met along the way. Three Chicks and
Their Books Blog, thank you for taking a chance on me, for being the first 'big
deal' for me. I can't wait to work with you more in the future. To Halos and
Horns, Beautiful Book Blog, Weet Weets Bookshelf, and any other bloggers and
reviewers that have taken a chance on me and spread the word.
I read every
single review
. I thank you for your words, your very applicable gifs, and
the excitement you have shared with me.

And last, but most important of all, to my readers, whoever
and wherever you may be. I can honestly say without a moment's hesitation that
I LOVE YOU, from the bottom of my heart! I love your encouragement, I love your
feedback, and I love it when you contact me! You can't possibly imagine how
wonderful it is to hear all the positive things you have to say to me. Thank
you. Thank you. THANK YOU. I hope you love whatever comes next.