Conned (4 page)

"My dad was shot recently and the carpet had been
stained. Also, Ash was kidnapped a few weeks back. Taken from this room. That's
why she has the sling. She got beat up pretty badly, shoulder ligaments
tore." I pointed toward the closet feeling the twinges of anger at what
happened to my little sister all over again. She finally saw that the doors had
been removed and there was a new section of drywall that we had recently
installed.

I had to hand it to Ash and Dad for keeping that little spot
a secret for all these years. I'd never been more grateful for a secret I had
no part in. Explained why our little sister had been so bomb at hide and seek
when we were little.

Her eyes widened more with each word that left my stupid
mouth, but when she saw the evidence, I wanted to take it all back. I knew
exactly what I had been doing and by the looks of it, she was going to do
exactly what I wanted her to do in the first place.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed and took a step back
from the closet. I wanted to smile at her cuss word because it sounded strange
coming from her lips. "Am I in danger here? Do I need to find somewhere
else to-"

I held my hand up to stop her. "No. All that is over
and done with. You're safe here."

She let out a breath but didn't really relax.

Good.

"Like I said, we won't be
here
long."

Then I turned and walked away, leaving her alone in that
room.

Yeah, I know. I'm an asshole.

***

I was sitting in my father's office going over the details
of the Ripley case so far. Captain Miller informed me that the prosecution had
offered another plea deal if Stanton gave them anything they could use against
his brother. This apparently happened early that morning and they were waiting
on Stanton. I knew he wouldn't give them anything. He had plead not guilty and
knew what he was facing when he did. A guy who does that isn't going to jump at
the chance to make a deal.

Plus, they'd offered it to him before and he didn't take it.

I asked the captain to send me anything they had on Rayce
Dawson. The kid obviously had a record, but I was curious to see where he had
been the last few years and why he had stayed away from his sister. I didn't
expect to find much in the few reports he was able to send, but I didn't find any
answers to what I was curious about, I was disappointed.

I don't normally give a shit about a woman's past. In fact,
the less I know about her, the better. This is how I've lived my life for
several years now. I've had my share of drinks in the face and slaps to the
cheek. Didn't mean I changed my ways even though everyone tried to convince me
otherwise.

Once. I got to know a woman
once
. Really well. In
fact, I had
thought
I was in love with her and was in the process of
taking a leap into sharing my life with someone. I was young, Sarah was young,
I was unsure of what to do with my life and she had given me a purpose. Or so I
thought. Then, she cheated on me with the one man I thought I could trust
outside of my brothers. Yes, I consider Luke my brother. We had been through
too much together not to be brothers in every way except blood.

He had been the one to help me kick the shit out of my
ex-roommate who I thought was my friend. In fact, Luke was the one who found
them out. Stopped by her work to deliver a package for her birthday from me
since I had been in the middle of training that afternoon, but I'd had huge
plans that night to celebrate with her. Luke found Sarah in the break room
kneeling in front of that douche and doing things I would rather not think
about.

I'll never forget the look on his face when he came back to
me that day still holding her gift. I literally felt the doom seeping out of
him.

This is one of the many reasons I trusted him with my
sister. He would never hurt her, never be disloyal to her, and he would never
be dishonest with
me
about her or anyone. He would give it to me
straight no matter what the issue and the issue was that I was feeling like
giving a shit about this woman's past instead of just doing my job. It had to
be because something was off about her, I could at least tell
that
much.
But I was going to be living with her for the next few months and the thrill I
was getting at the thought of that was dangerous.

That's why I called Luke the minute I felt the urge to go
find her. Gus and Dad were out back in the shed looking for some extra chairs
for his 'surprise' retirement party and there was no way in hell I was going to
Gus about it. Not yet.

"Shade."

"Hey, man. You got a minute?"

There was a pause, probably of disbelief and uncertainty
that I just called to chat. I rarely spoke to him on the phone at all. I wasn't
a talker, not to anyone but Ash, but that's because she was
too
talkative and no one could help not joining in the conversation when she was so
damn adorable all the time. Luke loved it about her and so did the rest of us.
Reminded me of Mom.

"Yeah, Con. I got a few. What's happening? Is
everything alright?"

I grinned, "If you are asking if anything is up with
Ash that I am warning you about, you can rest easy. She's packing and happy as
a sunrise."

"Damn it! I told her to wait for me, she's gonna tear
apart all the work those doctors did," he growled in my ear.

Like I said, he was good to my sister. Hence, the reason I
proceeded to embarrass myself.

"Yeah, good luck with that. I have a problem and I need
you to give it to me straight, like always."

"Shoot."

I raked a hand through my hair, feeling how long it had
gotten over the last few months. I usually kept it short and spiked, but long
before the shit that went down with Ash and my dad, I hadn't cared enough to
get a cut. It hadn't been in my schedule either, but it was really starting to
bug me.

Right. Keep thinking about your hair. That won't make it
any worse.

"Alright, well you know that assignment I got, with the
witness?"

"Yeah?"

"She's here this morning."

"Yeah?" When I didn't say more, he pressed a
little. "And?"

God, this was pathetic. "Shit, Luke."

I heard his laugh and dropped my head in my hands. I was
going to catch some major hell with this. No way he wasn't going to tell Gus
and then make my life miserable over the next several weeks.

"Con, what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

I groaned and leaned back in my father's desk chair and
stared up at the ceiling. "I have no clue, but I can almost guarantee that
Ash has already talked to you in the last hour so I can also guarantee that you
know
exactly
what I'm trying to tell you."

"I haven't talked to Ash yet, but she did tell me you
were nervous about the assignment this morning and from what Gus told me, I can
understand why."

"What the fuck does
that
mean?"

He laughed again, leaving me to wonder why the hell I called
him in the first place.

"Holy shit, Con! You've got a crush on her already and
you said Ash and I moved too fast? Put that out of your mind because you've got
a job to do, Con."

"Yeah, so did
you
," I growled.

Silence.

He sighed and I felt a little guilty about what I said, but
not enough to let him off the hook. I needed some advice and if he was feeling
all warm and fuzzy about me, he wouldn't be completely honest about it.

"That was different and you know it," he muttered.

He was right. It
was
different. Ash and Luke had been
in love with each other for years without the other knowing about it. After all
that wasted time apart, nothing could stop them from being together, even the
job.

"Luke, there is something about this girl. In just the
short time I've been with her… I don't know what to do about it. Maybe I should
just tell Miller to find someone else."

"That's not possible from what I understand about this
assignment. The marshals don't even know where she is, am I right?"

I nodded even though he couldn't see me, but he got his
answer anyway.

"Do your job. You haven't messed around in a long time,
man. Don't go back to it now. Otherwise, it can get messy, you already know
that."

"I'm going to be living with her," I argued.

"You don't get attached, Con." He didn't have to
say what we both were thinking.

And now isn't the time to start.

No matter how much I wanted differently, I couldn't get
close to Emily. Especially not when doing so could be detrimental to my career
and her life. I had to separate myself completely and go with my gut. She was
off limits.

Off. Limits
.

"How's it feel, man?" I heard Luke ask slowly.

"What?"

He sighed, "Listen, I don't know this girl, but I know
you
.
You're probably thinking how absolutely ludicrous the whole thing is. You like
her already and there's something about her that you just can't stop yourself
from wanting to dive into. You're telling yourself how this kind of shit
doesn't happen in real life. I've got news for you, though. It does happen and
the harder you fight it, the more it fights you back."

I listened intently and knew with certainty that everything
he was saying he truly believed. "Is that how it was with Ash?"

He sighed again, but I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Every God damned day."

"Not helping, man."

"Maybe not," he said casually, "but it helps
to know that if it is anywhere close to how it was with Ash, and I'm talking
about years ago, it won't go away. Women have that kind of power and don't even
realize it. Isabelle had that over Liam, Ash has it over me, and one day you
and Gus are going to experience it firsthand. When it happens, I'll be laughing
in the background because payback's a bitch, but it won't matter to you.
Nothing will."

Well, shit.

"I don't even know her, Luke."

"When's the trial?"

"Few months."

"That's time enough to get to know her and you are
going to get to know her whether you want to or not because you'll have to
spend every day with her. Just remember that you have a job to do. Your career
is on the line, so be careful."

"Then I guess I know what I gotta do."

"Let me guess," he said wryly, "be an asshole
to keep her away."

Not what I wanted.
"Exactly."

"Three month's worth. Good luck with that."

The sound of Gus and Dad coming inside the house sent a wave
of panic through my chest. If Gus found out about this, I would have to shoot
him in the leg to stop the teasing. That or he would dig and dig until I
finally admitted that this girl had knocked me on my ass.

"You repeat any of this, Luke, and I swear to
God…"

"Noted."

"I'm hanging up now. This whole conversation is making
me feel…"

"Exactly. The 'other f-word'," he chuckled.

"Later."

I ended the call before he could say anything, but I knew he
wouldn't
say anything. The conversation was over. My decision was made,
no matter how stupid that decision was and no matter how much I knew I
wouldn't
be able to do it. It made me feel better to have a plan, at least. This was my
job. I couldn't put that on the line because this girl made me feel something
different when I barely knew her. I don't have the time or the patience for it.

The door opened and Gus smirked when he saw me sitting at
the desk. "Emily's in the kitchen," he said with his infamous eyebrow
wiggle that turned into triumph when I shot out of my chair too quickly.
"Excited much?"

"Shut the fuck up," I growled and punched him in
the shoulder as I pushed passed him.

I had to do my job. So, she was the most beautiful woman I'd
ever met and the most intriguing. So what?
Do. Your. Job.

When I walked into the kitchen, Dad was sitting there with
her at the island and telling her about his upcoming trip to Ireland and from
the look on her face, she was fascinated by it. I felt a pang of jealousy that
Dad could talk to her so easily, that he didn't have the problem I had. He
could get to know her without worrying about liking her too much or having it
interfere with his priorities. Gus could make her laugh and make her feel
comfortable while I tried to ignore his intentional flirting. Ash could relate
with her and be a friend already. I wasn't like that and I hadn't ever needed
to be.

But I wanted it.

Wanted it bad, with her.

And wasn't that just delightful.

The one time I actually want more than meaningless sex with
a woman and it happens to be the woman that should be considered off limits.

"Ah, Conall. The house is yours, my boy." Dad
stood with a nod to Emily and gestured for Gus to go with him. "Gus and I
are going to get out of your hair so you can get down to business."

They walked out the garage door and I listened to Dad's car
start and the sound of it fading before I finally turned back to see Emily
fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. She had changed clothes and the t-shirt
she was wearing hid her curves a little more efficiently and I sighed with
relief. Not that it would help any. They were burned into my mind already with
the few glimpses I took.

"Where did you want to do it?"

My eyes shifted back up to hers at the sound of her voice
and the blush that filled her cheeks made me want to groan. Why couldn't she
have been a greasy, toothless witch?

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong," she said
quietly.

It sure as hell did. The images of where I wanted to
do
it
had swarmed my mind and I had to turn away before the tightening at the
front of my jeans became too noticeable. Luke was absolutely right about
everything he had said, but there was one thing that definitely couldn't be
argued. Women
did
have power. They would soon rule the world while the
rest of us fell to our knees and begged them to end the ache; and it
was
an ache. A need to lose ourselves in them and never be found.