Conned (6 page)

It was on that note that the rest of them had burst out
laughing and Gus started arguing about being the sexy one again.

Lucas may have been handsome, but that wasn't what made her
so envious of Aislinn Brannock. It was the way he looked at her, the way he
couldn't take his eyes off of her, and the way he fielded her brothers' teasing
remarks. Before long, Lucas and Ash had both stepped away for some privacy and
Emily watched as Gus and Conall set the table for dinner, all while griping
about their little sister getting married.

They obviously had some difficulty with it, but when Lucas
walked back into the kitchen with an intense glare and said, "You asshats
are going to be in charge of writing Thank You cards if you don't knock it the
fuck off," they shut their mouths. Ash came back into the kitchen a moment
later and Lucas smiled and pulled her into his arms with a brief kiss as if
nothing had even happened.

All the while, Emily sat at the island with an amused smile
and watched the love they all shared. The ease with which they interacted.
Family was important to them, just as it was to her.

Dinner had been entertaining and once the issue of coming up
with a back story for her and Conall was resolved, they had all settled into
reminiscing and informing her that Conall had a word limit for each day so not
to worry when he suddenly stopped talking to her. He hadn't denied it and
instead, kept his head down and focused on eating.

It was Ash who had come up with an idea of what they could
tell people when asked about their 'relationship'. She was Emily Moore from Los
Angeles and met Conall on a ski trip she took over the winter in Colorado. They
had been keeping a long distance friendship, the reason why no one had heard
about her, and when Conall had come back to California recently, they decided
to get together more seriously. Conall was going to transfer to Oakland and
Emily was moving here to be with him.

She didn't think they would have to go into too much detail,
but Gus had other ideas and wanted to make sure they stuck with their story.

"People are already asking about him."

"What people?" Conall had asked.

Gus cleared his throat and gave him a look, "People who
want to
catch up
."

Ash had rolled her eyes and clarified for Emily. "That
means the sluts that he leaves behind after visiting Dad every so often. These
two have built up quite the collection."

She had laughed in response, but it was forced. Emily didn't
like the thought of Conall bringing women back to wherever they would be
staying. Her worry was erased, however, when Conall spoke.

"Doesn't matter anyway," he grumbled. "They
won't have a chance to see me while I'm here. I have a job to do. I'll make
sure Miller gets all the paperwork done by the time we leave here. It will all
be fine."

After that, the conversation had lightened and Emily
discovered that Liam Brannock was not only a respected father, but a highly
respected man in the community. The party for his retirement was going to be a
pretty big event and was supposed to be a surprise. Ash hadn't been too happy
when she was told he knew all about it but had shrugged it off when Lucas
pointed out that she would have more help because of it. Gus hadn't taken that
well since he was the one that was supposed to keep Liam busy until the party.

It was during dessert that Emily finally learned what
happened over the last few months that had resulted in Liam's mock funeral and
Ash's shoulder injury. The mood had changed dramatically when Lucas told her
about his ex-partner. He was still stinging from the betrayal, but Ash
reassured him that it all worked out and it wasn't worth their grief.

Ash was a lot stronger than Emily had taken her for in the
beginning. She was silly and genuine with a very acquiescent way about her, but
she had a fire in her that she had obviously held back over the years. Liam
commented that Lucas was partly responsible for bringing that out in her, but
the man had argued that it was all Ash. She had just needed a reason to let it
out.

After dessert, Lucas and Ash sat around the table with
Conall, chatting about wedding plans and Gus immediately went into the office
to catch the game. Whatever game that was. She spent the rest of the evening
chatting with Liam about his days as a captain in the police force until Ash
and Lucas said their goodbyes and headed home with their arms wrapped around
each other.

Gus had appeared briefly to say goodbye and give his sister
a hug and sent Lucas off with a glare. When she asked what his problem was he
simply replied with, "She's my sister and I'm still getting used to
letting her go."

Instead of feeling the usual disappointment in her own
brother for not being that way, she decided to hold onto the hope that after
this was all over, Rayce would give them a chance. Their parents hadn't been
loving and they spent most of their days and nights partying while she took
care of Rayce and helped him with his homework. She never wanted Rayce to
wonder if he was loved, because he
was
. She showed him every single day;
tried to keep their family together, even if it was just the two of them.

Emily had expected to toss and turn that night. Rayce was in
the forefront of her mind and after getting to know Conall's family, she was a
little more reluctant to go through with everything. They seemed to trust her.
She didn't want to see the disappointment on their faces if they ever
discovered the truth.

She was so distracted with her thoughts that she nearly
collided with Liam on her way to the stairs.

"Whoa, careful, my dear."

She felt her cheeks flush and smoothed out her hair,
"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, you looked a little
distracted," he pointed out.

It was then that she noticed a thicker Irish brogue in his
words. "How long have you been in America?"

He smiled, flashing his white teeth and making his blue eyes
twinkle. "Oh, it's been a long time now. Why do you ask?"

"I can hear a little accent every so often when you
speak. I wasn't sure about it last night, but… it's a little thicker now."

"Ah, yes. I've been up for a while now and I was just
going to lie down. My children tell me it thickens when I'm tired or upset
about something. I don't even realize that I let it out. My Isabelle never
wanted me to lose it, but when she passed, I didn't hold onto it much
anymore."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said quietly. She hadn't
meant to bring up his late wife. She could tell at dinner that the woman was
still very much missed, as she should be. She raised a wonderful family.

"It's alright, my dear. It's not as if I could forget
her, she's on my mind every minute of the day. It's good to remember her with
someone else."

She wished she could say as much for her parents, but that
would never be the case. The day they died had almost been a relief to Emily
and she had felt awful thinking that way.

They were gone for two days, out on one of their drinking
binges, before she got the call that they had caused a car accident that had
almost taken the life of a baby. She'd been so angry at the time, but Rayce
needed her. She was strong for him and never brought them up in any negative
way over the years.

"I'm beat. I will see you later this afternoon. Conall
is outside in case you were wonderin'."

"Thank you," she blinked up at him.

He nodded his head with a smile that crinkled the skin
around his eyes and stepped inside his room. She immediately headed for the
kitchen, sure to find someone in there that could distract her for the morning.
Ash may live with Lucas, but she did say she was going to be around a lot
getting things ready for the party in two days and Emily was relieved when she
found her sitting at the island making a list.

"Good morning, Ash."

"Good morning! Wow, you look great, Emily."

Emily frowned, "I'm sorry?"

The smile on Ash's face was bright and mischievous, it made
her a little nervous. "Your hair is gorgeous and your face is seriously
flawless. I'm assuming you just woke up and didn't even get yourself ready, but
you don't look like you need to at all." She stood from the stool she had
been sitting on, her dark hair falling over her injured shoulder, and picked up
her list. "I'm off to the store with Gus, have Con text me if you guys
need anything that you think of over the next little while. He's out back, you
should go find him."

Emily could barely keep up, the woman was speaking so fast,
and rambling like she was nervous or anxious about something. Before she could
ask what was wrong, Ash was out the door and the only sound that broke the
silence was the lawn mower starting back up.

She shrugged and made her way to the door that led out into
the backyard. She was so distracted by the lanterns and strings of lights that
had been set up for the party that she didn't see Conall until it was too late
to make a run for it.

She knew the man was fit, but for the love of God, did he
have to be
that
fit?

He was pushing the mower toward her and she froze when he
looked up and the roaring of the motor immediately died out. He was sweaty,
tanned, shirtless, and his muscles flexed deliciously as he gripped the handle
of the mower. She opened her mouth to say something, but the only thing that
came out was a tiny squeak.

"Good morning, Emily. Did I wake you?"

No idea, but I don't mind if you ever do in the future,
she thought.

"No."

"Good," he said, his blues eyes darkening as they
flickered to her hair that was hanging over her shoulders in a messy braid.

She was suddenly nervous about her appearance, then
remembered Ash's assurance that she looked good. The woman had obviously known
that Emily wouldn't want to look like she had just woken up when she saw
Conall. Ash was sneaky as hell, but smart.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Conall asked and wiped
his hands on the gym shorts he was wearing low on his hips.

She glimpsed the waistband of his underwear and felt her
eyes widen when she saw his abdomen, firm and rippled with muscle. Even his
belly button was sexy. That had to be illegal, right? She moved her gaze upward
and shook her head slowly in response of whatever the question had been and her
eyes zeroed in on a tattoo that covered his left shoulder and stretched out to
the area over his heart. She couldn't make out all the details, but the image
was beautiful and she wanted a closer look more than anything at the moment.

"I'm gonna shower then."

She nodded, unable to take her eyes off of the tattoo and
incapable of speech or anything else.

"Emily?"

Her eyes finally moved up to see that he was smiling at her
and her cheeks went hot as she scrambled for something to say. "What about
the lawn?"

He frowned and looked behind him at the half finished lawn,
then turned back and started toward the door. "Gus will finish it later.
We got shit to do."

In the next moment, all the wonder she had felt from seeing
him sweaty and shirtless with a body women would kill to touch, was replaced
with irritation. She wasn't sure if he meant to be rude or if that was just how
he spoke to everyone.

Shit to do.

She didn't think on it for very long and decided it was
better that he treated her no differently than he would any other witness he
was protecting. She already liked his family too much and that was going to
make it hard to leave when the trial was over and done with. No point in liking
him for anything other than his impressive physique.

She was watching his back as she followed him inside the
house. His muscles moved gracefully with every step he took and she was
mesmerized.

He held the door open for her and mumbled, "I'll be
ready in a few minutes," then immediately started for the stairs.

"Where are we going?"

He kept moving, but answered her question as if it was
obvious. "I'm taking you to breakfast."

"Oh."

"Then we're going to look at an apartment."

"Oh."

His voice faded and she assumed he was climbing the stairs
when he said, "Gotta make sure my girlfriend approves of where we
live."

Oh.

Her head may have been saying she was pleased that he
treated her like he would anyone else, but her heart stuttered anyway, telling
a completely different story.

***

They pulled into the parking lot of a good sized apartment
complex, but that wasn't what made Emily's stomach roll. It was probably the
nicest set of apartments she had ever had the choice of living in and she
wasn't sure what to do with that.

Over the years, she lived in plenty of dumps, especially
when it was just her and Rayce, but had always hoped to find somewhere nice
that she could be proud to call home. This place was definitely making her feel
like that dream could happen.

"I know it's not the biggest," Conall muttered
from the driver's seat. "But it's the only place around that was willing
to forgo the lease agreement and stays in the area so you can be close for
work."

She hadn't forgotten about Ash's assurance that her mother's
old friend from way back would let her work as a substitute teacher at the
middle school. Something she was anxious to start. She missed the kids in
Denver and knew that the next few months would go a lot faster if she kept
herself occupied with the same kind of work.

"It needs to appear as if you are here to stay a
while," Ash had said. "Margie will put in a good word with the
teachers and you'll be staying busy, I'm sure of it."

She turned to Conall who was now watching her carefully as
she took in the apartment complex. He had been quiet throughout breakfast, but
was pleasant for the most part. She got the feeling that he didn't want to be,
but she didn't blame him. She was putting his family in danger whether he
thought that was true or not, and what he
didn't
know would certainly
piss him off. She was lucky he had taken on the assignment in the first place.