Conned (11 page)

"Um, there isn't anyone back home that you might feel
like calling is there?"

She tensed.
Oh God, did he already know?
She swore
she was careful and never took the phone out of her bag. She barely even
thought about it until today.

"What do you mean?"

He kept his eyes on the road and she noticed his fingers
tightening around the steering wheel. "Before I get you the phone, I need
to make sure you aren't going to use it for anything that might put you at
risk. I trust you, but I have to follow the rules."

He trusted her.

He
trusted
her.

She was a terrible person.

"Is there a man that you may be tempted to call?"

"A man?" Was he talking about Rayce? Did he
suspect that she had contacted him during her last location?

"Shit. You're going to make me say it aren't you?"

"Umm…"

"Do you have a boyfriend back in Denver?" he asked
quickly, as if he was ripping off a band aid.

She was silent for a few seconds as her heart beat went back
to normal. He didn't know. He couldn't know. She was just being paranoid. Plus,
it was cute how he was looking at anything but her, even when the silence
stretched on a little longer.

"No. No boyfriend. No one to call."

"Really?"

"Really."

"How?" he asked incredulously, frowning at the
road stretched out in front of them.

"What do you mean 'how'? It's easy, I just don't."

"I got that, but I don't understand how that's
possible. I mean… look at you."

She smiled and studied her hands that were twisting in her
lap. "I do every day, but I still don't have a boyfriend. Unless you count
as one."

He chuckled, "I'm talking real life so no, I don't
count."

That hurt. She knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't stop
it from hurting. What she would give to be able to tell people that Conall
Brannock was her actual boyfriend. Sure, he was majorly quiet and only spoke
when necessary, but he was smart, loyal, and protective. He was honest and
kind. He didn't need to speak to tell her he respected her, he
showed
her. The man was everything a woman could want.

An honest woman.

Not her.

"What about you, Conall?"

"What about me?" he asked and took the turn that
would lead to his father's subdivision.

"You don't have a girlfriend waiting for you back in
Denver?"

He didn't reply right away and she wished she could take it
back. She really didn't want to know if he did. It would only hurt more. She
could just imagine the type of girl that would have a hold on this man.
Flawlessly beautiful, tall and slender, smart and sophisticated. Her family
wouldn't just be a damaged memory, they would make a man like him feel welcome
and safe. They would probably grovel at his feet for God's sake.

"No. I haven't had a girlfriend for a long time now.
Didn't you hear Ash when she told you I was a man-whore?"

She
had
heard Ash, but she couldn't make herself
truly believe it. "I did. Are you?"

He sighed and made another turn before he answered honestly
and she knew without a doubt it was honest. He had never lied to her and she
wished she could say the same.

"I used to be. Had a bad experience and didn't want to
settle down. A lot of people can vouch for that. But it's no longer appealing
to me. It was just a way to pass the time without feeling alone."

She considered his answer as they sat in a pleasant silence
the rest of the drive to his father's house. She could tell that it wasn't
something he really wanted to talk about, but he had given her a little which
was more than she expected. Everyone kept saying they were surprised that he
was getting serious with someone, even if it wasn't all real. That woman at the
party had implied that he often got bored and moved on, but she couldn't see
him doing that. Gus? Definitely. Conall? Not so much and she was pleased to
hear that even if he had been that way before, he wasn't any longer. It
shouldn't please her, but it did.

It certainly explained how he described Officer Sheen's
lifestyle when they first met.

Unfulfilling.

When they pulled into the driveway, she went for the door
but his hand on her knee stopped her.

"Let me get it," he objected before immediately
removing his hand and leaving her stunned. He didn't touch her often, but when
he did, it was like a bolt of lightning firing repeatedly from her brain to the
spot he was in contact with, and when he wasn't touching her anymore, she could
still feel the tingling warmth.

He came around to her side and opened the door. Her head was
so jumbled that she started to get out before removing her seat belt and was
pulled back in. Her cheeks flushed and she fumbled to release the belt.

Conall chuckled and waited patiently. "You need
practice, beautiful."

She was too embarrassed to reply and too stunned by the
endearment.
He thinks I'm beautiful?
He smiled down at her, that panty dropping
smile that made her want to look down and check to see that hers were still on.
By the time she finally got out of the car, she was bright red. Sighing, she
stepped beside him and kept her head down.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed," he said softly and placed
his hand on her lower back as they walked up to the porch. "It's just
me."

Yeah, that was the problem.

***

Conall

Something wasn't right.

The files that Captain Miller had sent me were anything but
helpful, but the circumstances behind Emily's testimony were just too
coincidental.

I went over her statement once more, then went over the
statements of everyone who was questioned. Seemed that Emily was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.

That was happening to a lot of people lately.

Stanton Ripley did most of the marketing for the chain of
hotels that Lucien had developed. The man may be a criminal, but he sure did
know his business. He could give up crime and be set for life, never lifting a
finger. His little brother was good at what he did and made it a point to
travel to each of the hotels and present new marketing plans and new mission
statements frequently. The hotel staff loved him and he was described as one of
the nicest, happiest guys they ever had the pleasure of working with. The
statement, "I never thought he would be capable of such a thing," was
repeated more often than I liked.

According to witnesses, he had finished a meeting earlier
than what was expected and headed up to his room for the night. I read through
the rest of the statements from the staff and they all said the next thing they
knew, the police arrived.

The cop who had been killed, Officer Greg Daniels, was with
Stanton during the meeting and left with him after the meeting. It was said
that the two had apparently been friends and Daniels always went everywhere
with him whenever Stanton was in Denver. Almost like a bodyguard.

Strange.

Then again, Daniels had taken the week off when Ripley
arrived in Denver. Maybe he
was
playing bodyguard for him. Stanton
hadn't been willing to say anything about the relationship other than they were
just friends.

I shook my head and rubbed the heels of my hands against my
eyes. I had no reason to be doing this. The case was going to trial and this
had already been analyzed a hundred times over. But something that Emily said
earlier was on repeat in my head.
"No boyfriend. No one to call."

I could imagine her brother wasn't really worth calling, so
that was a given. It was the boyfriend thing and the impossibility of her
having
no one
to even be tempted to call. I remember watching her watch
Jules walking into that hotel getting ready for a one night stand and asking
herself what that would be like. I couldn't imagine her ever having casual sex
like Jules did.

The statement I'd read a hundred times over proved me wrong.

I picked it up once more and read over the part explaining
why she was at the hotel.

"I had just been meeting with a friend."

When the officer had asked her to explain, he described her
as answering anxiously and a little embarrassed.

"It was a casual thing with a man I had just met
earlier that night."

She had been asked to explain again.

"It was for sex. A one night stand. Is that enough
detail for you?"

Her statement went on to explain how she saw Ripley leaving
the room in a hurry and speaking frantically on his cell phone. He didn't see
her and crashed through the stairwell door like he couldn't get out of there
fast enough. The door to his room was still cracked open and she went to close
it for him, but something was in the way. That's when she saw the body lying on
the floor and Officer Daniel's hand stopping the door from shutting all the
way. Several staff had seen him exit the building, but they didn't ask
questions.

Ripley's prints were all over the gun and there were no
other witnesses who saw anyone else leave the room.

Her story had checked out. The man she had been meeting with
was Trent Marks who had made a late reservation for just one night. He had
given a similar statement about meeting up with Emily.

I threw the file on the desk and leaned back in my father's
desk chair. I had locked myself in his office so I could go over everything in
detail without Emily being aware, or being a distraction. Ash was keeping her
busy with plans for dinner, but no matter how hard I tried not to be, I was out
there with her.

I couldn't take my mind off of her and after reading about
her meeting up with some stranger, the burning in my gut had spread. I kept
telling myself it was because it was all so cut and clean. All so coincidental.
I'm a cop, I don't really believe in coincidences.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Luke. He would
know what to say to straighten things out in my head… or at least get me to
snap out of it.

"Shade."

"Do you seriously answer that way to everyone who calls
you?"

He sighed into the phone and ignored my question, "What
do you need, Con?"

Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I decided to focus on what
needed to be discussed. "I'm going over the files for the Ripley case and
I'm having a hell of a time keeping my head."

He was silent, waiting for me to continue and when I did, he
listened like I knew he would.

"Something doesn't add up. I mean, the guy is a saint.
The only thing he has against him is being related to Lucien Ripley, who by the
way is a frickin' genius. Did you know this guy makes millions by just sitting
on his ass and letting his hotels run by themselves?"

"Stay on topic, Con."

"Right. Anyway, I don't see how all of a sudden a guy
like Stanton Ripley, who everyone claims is the greatest guy on the planet, can
just shoot a cop. Especially if said cop was his friend. Not one person said
they noticed anything abnormal between the two of them."

"Why the hell are you even digging into this? Let the
lawyers deal with-"

I interrupted him because I'd already told myself the same
things, but it didn't work then so it wasn't going to work now. "Luke,
listen to me. Her brother is involved with Lucien's enemy. How come the kid
isn't doing what it takes to get her out of this shit? He would certainly
benefit. Emily is the only reason this guy is locked up. She called the police
and claimed she was at the hotel because of a one night stand. Now, come on.
Tell me you believe that. Emily? A one night stand?"

"You're too close to this, Con. You gotta take a step
back."

Sighing, I dropped my head in my hand and let the phone
dangle in my fingers still pressed against my ear. "The first day I met
her, she pretty much had a sign on her head that said she could never do
anything like that, Luke."

"So? Maybe she decided she wanted to for one night.
Lots of people do. You used to do it all the time, remember?"

"No."

"Con! You're letting jealousy direct your reasoning.
Forget who Emily is and look at it objectively."

I squeezed my eyes shut and dropped my head to the desk. It
was
jealousy. The thought of another man having that part of her was enough to make
me want to track down this Trent Marks and put my fist through his face.

Luke was right and I had almost royally screwed up. I wanted
Emily and it was messing with the way I did my job.

"You're right. I'm sorry, I just got carried
away."

He was silent for a few seconds before he suggested
something I had thought of before, but didn't have the heart to do. "You
shouldn't even be digging, but if you think you need to know everything, why
don't you just ask her?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it. I can see it every
time it comes up."

"Well, she's going to be talking about it a lot in a
couple months. Help her practice."

He was right… again.

"Why do I ever doubt you?" I chuckled into the
phone, my head still plastered against the desk.

"Because it's good to doubt every once in a while.
We're all human, we all make mistakes. Especially when it comes down to someone
we care about."

"I care too much, Luke. It's making me insane seeing
her every day and not being able to…"

"I get it, man. I do. I don't know what to tell you
except to step back first. Talk to her. Don't fuck this up. If she means that
much to you…"

A soft knock at the door made me lift my head, "I'll
ask her, but not yet. Gotta go. Thanks for the help."

I hung up before he could respond and made my way to the
door after straightening the files and tucking them away for later. Another
knock sounded just as I reached for the door knob.

Emily was standing on the other side, her face glowing and
her smile lighting up the darkened hallway. "Ash and I are done."