Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

Still laughing, Damon strode toward the door, turning before he walked out. “My trip’s still on, so make sure you’re not distracted over the weekend,” he said with a nod toward the bedroom.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be one hundred percent business,” Quinn said. If for no other reason than he was dying to wrap up this case and return to his real life.

No sooner had Damon shut the door and it locked behind him, than Ari stepped into the suite, wearing his shirt and an extremely wary expression on her face. She’d obviously heard what Damon said, leaving Quinn to wonder where the hell he stood with her now.

Ariana tried to swallow but since hearing Damon so callously discussing how Quinn had supposedly “offed” her twin, she felt like she had paste in her mouth and a huge lump in the back of her throat.

“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain?” she asked Quinn. But since he’d been less than forthcoming until now, she really didn’t expect any answers.

But she refused to stick around on the basis of pure trust. Not anymore. She’d given him her faith and her body. It was time he offered something in return. But since being on the receiving end of Jeffrey’s ultimatum, Ariana didn’t believe in giving her own. Folding her arms over her chest, she stared at Quinn. And waited.

“You can’t believe everything you hear.”

She laughed, but the sound was as bitter as she felt. “Try another one.”

He spread his hands open wide. “Things aren’t always as they seem?”

A reluctant smile pulled at her mouth. “Better.” But not enough.

She turned and headed back into the bedroom to get dressed. Back into the room where they’d made love. And because they’d been so close, so intimate, because she’d seen him with Sam, in her heart Ariana knew Quinn hadn’t had her sister offed. No way in hell.

But she needed to hear the truth from him or she was through. He still wasn’t talking. She began the embarrassing morning-after process of retrieving her clothes that were scattered around the room. She bent down for her T-shirt when Quinn laid a hand on her shoulder. Her heart beat triple-time in her chest and her skin tingled, memories of last night overwhelming in their intensity.

He knelt down beside her, his breath warm against her neck, and whispered softly in her ear. “I’m an undercover cop and your sister’s safe. There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

She sucked in a startled breath. “You’re a—”

He placed a hand over her mouth. “Do not repeat that word out loud. Especially not here. Understand?”

She nodded and he released her.

Her cheeks tingled from his touch as surprise and something so much deeper coursed through her veins. His last slip of the tongue had been real. Quinn was a cop, not one of Damon’s goons. Unless he’d turned, but she knew that wasn’t even a remote possibility. She’d always known he was a good man. She wouldn’t have slept with him otherwise. And she’d sensed his nobleness even when he refused to give her the answers she needed. Which was why her feelings and emotions regarding this enigmatic man were bizarre, conflicting, and now that she’d slept with him, even more complicated.

He turned her toward him. “I’ve swept this place for bugs but I’m not about to risk a lengthy discussion here.” He still spoke at barely a whisper.

Ariana remained silent, the enormity of what he’d revealed just now settling over her. Not his occupation, which was enough of a shock, but the fact that he’d trusted her with the info rmation. She understood what that must have cost him.

The most she could do in return was accept his request to remain silent. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek in her hand. “You didn’t sleep with me because Damon said you should stick close to me.”

“Did it feel like that’s why I slept with you?”

She sealed her lips over his in reply.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Connor pulled up to a small house in a town about thirty minutes from Damon’s casino. The outside was well maintained, unlike the dilapidated older houses surrounding it. He double-checked the number against the paper Maria had given him, before climbing out of his car and walking toward the front door.

He’d been waiting for this moment for so long, his palms sweat like he was on his first date. In Connor’s life, not much affected him anymore. Until he’d met the dark-haired sexy woman with a smart mouth and an obvious reluctance to get closer—which was just fine with him since he didn’t want anything long-term or serious either. He just couldn’t get her out of his head and he hoped like hell this date would be a good start.

He was heading up the driveway when a young kid, probably a neighbor, followed a basketball that rolled across the grass and came to a halt by Connor’s feet. He appeared about six or seven years of age. His dark hair stood straight up as if he’d slept wrong, had a cowlick that wouldn’t tame, and had been avoiding a hairbrush for days.

“Hey, mister.”

Connor knelt down on one knee. “Hey, yourself.”

“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t need.” The boy puffed out his chest as if he were the man in charge and stared Connor down.

Connor could well relate to the kid’s bravado, having been a similar tough guy in his day, and he stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m no salesman. But who are you anyway, the neighborhood welcoming committee?” he asked wryly.

The kid shook his head. “I just take care of what’s mine.”

“Then go on home and do that,” Connor said, chuckling. Gone were the days when a kid should play alone in the streets, and Connor glanced around, wondering if someone was looking out for him.

“I am home.” He pointed his thumb back toward the gray house and wrinkled his nose, looking at Connor as if he were a complete moron.

An uneasy feeling crawled up Connor’s spine at the same time he heard a familiar voice call out. “Joseph Anthony, get yourself into the house now!”

Connor stood, looking toward the house to see Maria standing beside the open screen door. Ignoring him, she waved toward the kid, motioning for him to come inside.

“Aw geez, Mom.” Joseph stomped up the driveway and into the house, ducking under his mother’s arm.

His mother. Holy crap, Connor thought.

Maria said something low to the kid, something Connor couldn’t hear, before she stepped back out onto the front porch and shut the door behind her. She folded her arms across her chest in the defensive posture Connor had come to recognize. “I see you found the place okay.”