Conned (20 page)

"So you put yourself in his place. Put a target on your
head for Lucien to aim at."

"Yes."

"So you're plan was to testify and then what, hope no
one found out?"

She sighed and more tears formed when she looked me in the
eyes, "That was the plan, until you."

I stared back at her, praying she wouldn't say what I
thought she was going to say. My resolve was already slipping with every word
that left her mouth. I get it. She had every reason to question her brother,
but she didn't. I wouldn't dream of questioning my family if they asked me for
help.

I cleared my throat and tightened my fists. "Until
me."

"I didn't want to go through with any of this. I knew
it was wrong, but I'd already committed and Rayce kept reminding me that if I
didn't do it, I would never see him again. I practically raised him, Conall.
You know what my parents were like. He's all I got." She took a deep
breath and stepped away from the wall. "But when I met you, everything
changed. Your family showed me that it takes more than one person to hold it
all together. And I fell in love with them."

She stepped closer and my fingers itched to reach out and
touch her.

"I fell in love with
you
."

I wasn't expecting the reaction I had to those words. I was
so angry that I didn't think they would affect me. But they did. More than
anything had before. It was what I had wanted from her, what I needed from her.
But the surge of happiness quickly died and a numbing cold took its place.

"You lied to me."

She stepped closer until she was inches in front of me.
"I'm so sorry. When you discovered me packing everything last night, it
was because I was leaving to go confess. I realized how much I love you and
your family and I couldn't do it anymore. I can't stand the thought of any of
them getting hurt because of me. I was going to make everything right, but
then…"

Yeah, then I made love to her and told her I loved her and
gave her everything. Like a fool. I should have listened to Luke.

"I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I want to make this
right."

Nothing was right anymore and my anger won out. Selfishness
won out, just like it did with her.

"You will make it right, but not with me. You're
getting on that plane and you're going to tell them everything."

"Conall, I-"

"Don't. I understand the need to protect your family,
but
you
have to understand that I'm protecting
mine
. You put my
sister in danger. My entire family. So I'm going to protect them by getting rid
of you."

It was basically a slap in her face and her reaction didn't
say any differently. The tightening in my chest made it hard to breathe. I
wanted to take the words back, but I couldn't trust her. Not anymore. No matter
how much I loved her.

I picked up my phone and dialed Captain Miller. She stood
frozen in the same spot until I practically dragged her out of the hotel and
into my truck twenty minutes later. Not a word was spoken between us until the
call to board the plane. I hadn't told her I wasn't going with her. No way was
I giving her a chance to talk me out of it. I still wanted to protect her, but
up in the air, she wouldn't need me. Miller knew the situation and was prepared
to have someone collect her from the plane themselves.

We stood and she started toward the door where a line had formed.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to lift her over my shoulder and carry her away
from here or just walk away and never look back.

I went with the harder decision. To watch
her
walk
away and deal with whatever happened next.

"Goodbye, Emily."

She whipped around and stared at me with the same fear I had
seen when that fucker had her trapped. It made staying in place almost
impossible. I was angry and hurt, pissed at myself for getting attached and not
realizing that she was lying from the beginning. I still wanted her, though,
lies and all. That's what pissed me off the most.

"Y-you aren't-"

"No. There's no need for me to go with you."

"I…"

"Just go, Emily." I meant to sound harsh, get her
to turn around and stomp away, but I couldn't force myself to do it. The words
came out so fucking gently. The hurt I was trying so hard to hide was in plain
view.

She looked down at her feet and I watched a few tears fall
to the ground before she lifted her head once more. "I'm sorry," she
sniffed. Then her face slipped back into her mask, bringing her guard up. She
nodded and turned away from me to get in line.

I watched until she disappeared through the door, telling
myself it was to make sure she left, but I knew the real reason.

She was taking a part of me with her. A part I would never
get back, never wanted to get back.

I loved her.

But it just wasn't enough.

Emily

She was broken.

After everything she had been through over the last year,
losing Conall had broken her. The reasons for doing what she did suddenly
seemed so pathetic and naïve. She had been a complete idiot. She'd overlooked
the fact that her brother had never done anything for anyone but himself and
trusted him when it was a matter of life and death.

She should have known. She should have opened her eyes.

But she had been content to keep her head down and believe
that no matter what life throws at you, your family is always there to back you
up. To help you. To sacrifice.

Hers never had.

Why the hell did she think that would ever change?

She knew the dread she had felt when she dialed his number
that morning was a warning. She'd just been so relieved to remember her
brother's cell number. The phone she had used before was shattered and the only
option she had left was to use the one Conall had provided for her. She knew it
was a risk, but she'd been stupid enough to take it. Conall was busy talking to
his boss, so she made the quick call.

"What?" her brother answered angrily.

"Rayce, it's me. My phone is broken."

"Emily?"

She should have paid attention to the thump in her chest
when he acted surprised to hear from her. Almost as if he wasn't expecting her
to ever contact him again.

"They found me, Rayce. Some guy found me and tried to
take me but he said he had nothing to do with Ripley."

"Shit! Where are you now?"

"It doesn't matter because we're leaving, I think. I'm
not going to call you anymore. I think they're finding me-"

"Don't worry about that, Em," he said soothingly.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I need to come to you, okay?
No one else is going to be able to protect you."

"No! It's not just me anymore, Rayce. I can't go
through with this, okay? These people are wonderful and don't deserve this. I
can't do it anymore. I won't. How did they find me anyway? I thought you-"

"Damn it, Emily!" His voice was cold and she knew
if she could see him now, she would see that ice shooting at her from the hard
eyes that used to match hers. "You want me to end up in prison or worse?
After everything, you're just going to give up on me?"

"I'm sorry," she said shakily, but kept her
resolve. "But I'm done. I'm telling them everything, Rayce. The evidence
is damning Stanton anyway, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Fuck you! I should have known you would back out of
this."

"I'm sorry. Goodbye, Rayce. I love-"

He hung up before she could tell him and that was enough to
convince her that what she was doing was right. She would suffer the
consequences, but she wasn't going to lie to Conall anymore. She loved him too
much. She knew her brother was in serious trouble, but protecting him was
wrong. She had to believe that. If he had done something she couldn't imagine
him doing, if he had killed someone… she had to believe that she was doing the
right thing.

She was planning on waiting until they were in Denver to
tell Conall, but he had found the broken phone and put the pieces together.
He'd been so angry with her, but she held on to the hope that his love for her
would help him understand.

She knew it was just her being stupid all over again.

"Ms. Dawson." A knock at the door and the muffled
voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She had done nothing but cry since
boarding that plane alone three days ago. Conall had already spilled the beans
and the marshals that came to pick her up didn't hold back their anger. They
didn't realize that she actually welcomed their disappointment. She could never
punish herself enough for betraying the one man she would give up everything
for, even her brother.

She had refused to ask about Conall when she met with Captain
Miller that afternoon, but he informed her that Conall was safe and had
reported back to him since they separated. She got the feeling that he knew
what had transpired between them, but he didn't say anything about it. He could
tell how upset she was. Didn't mean he'd gone easy on her.

She sat across from him for thirty minutes while he lectured
her about the danger she had put so many people in and what the consequences
were for what she had done. They were going to have to reinvestigate and find
her brother to come in and straighten things out.

She'd barely listened, but she knew she would probably end
up in jail.

She wished they would just hand her over to Ripley, but she
had no such luck. They righteously continued to protect her, lock her up and keep
her out of harm's way. She overheard them discussing a plan to use her betrayal
against the Ripley brothers, but she didn't get any specific details on how
they would, just that they weren't letting the cat out of the bag yet.

Another knock sounded before she was able to drag herself to
the door. She opened it to find Deputy Givens on the other side. His face was
hard and his eyes narrowed until he saw how awful she must have looked. The
skin around her eyes was red and swollen from all the crying she had been doing
and her hair was flat and greasy from refusing to get out of bed for the past
three days.

He cleared his throat and looked away from her for a moment
before his gaze, only slightly softer, met hers again. "Ms. Dawson,
Captain Miller is on the phone. He says it's important."

"Okay," she muttered and followed him out into the
living room.

The apartment they were staying in was tiny and rundown. She
missed the bathtub Conall had teased her about getting so excited over and she
missed the sound of him talking to his family every so often. A family that she
would kill to have for herself.

There were now three of them altogether and she was grateful
that they left her alone most of the time. Another woman, Deputy Shaw, who had
been assigned to her 24/7, was polite and professional, but she reminded Emily
of Ash with her dark hair and tiny figure. Then there was Deputy Givens, who
was only around in the mornings. He would have been fun to talk to, if he
actually talked to her. Not that she gave any of them a chance really.

He handed her the phone and before she could even say
'Hello', she knew that something was seriously wrong. The shouting in the
background didn't stop her from hearing the angry tone from Captain Miller.

"Emily, where the hell is your brother?"

"I'm sorry?"

"He's disappeared. Went right off the grid."

She shouldn't have been surprised, but her foggy brain
couldn't wrap her mind around a single reason why he would just disappear if
what he told her had been the truth. It broke her heart all over again. Her
brother… he wasn't the same kid she had raised since the day he came home from
the hospital and she held him in her arms.. "I don't-"

"We can't find him and Brannock has apparently taken it
upon himself to look for him. I can't reach him either."

Panic settled in her chest at the mention of Conall and the
depression she'd been in lifted off of her to be replaced by overwhelming fear.
Much worse than devastating sadness. "What? Do you know if he's
okay?"

"No! He's not answering his phone and his family said
he took off early this morning. His sister said she didn't know anything else,
but that was a big fat lie."

Where would he go looking for her brother?
Why
would
he go looking for her brother?

"What the hell happened between you two? Brannock is
the only detective I've got who follows orders without asking questions, now
he's blatantly disobeying every God damn…"

Emily stopped listening and let the panic take over. Conall
was putting himself in danger by looking for her brother, but she knew he would
be the one to find him. And then what? If it hadn't been for her, he would be
safe and going on with his life like he always had. He wouldn't be putting his
career in jeopardy.

She could only imagine what could happen if he stepped in
Ripley's path. She had a feeling the guy was probably looking for her brother,
too. She'd been informed of everything he was doing over the last several weeks
and she knew he had done nothing but lie to her since the very beginning. He
didn't give a shit about her. He was always selfish. Whatever he was doing was
only benefitting himself.

"Captain Miller, I think maybe I can find out where he
is. I'll have to call Aislinn, but I might be able to get it out of her if she
knows something."
And I'll be able to beg him to just leave it alone
and let my brother suffer for his own choices.

"Do it! Call me with whatever you find out."

He hung up and she sat there silent for a moment. Everyone
was hanging up on her lately and it was making her angry.

Good, anger was what she needed to get through whatever the
hell was going to happen now.

***

Conall

I pulled up to a tiny old brick house with an even smaller
yard in downtown Denver. The house belonged to the officer who was supposedly
murdered by Stanton Ripley. His widow and two small children still lived here
and it was time to get some answers about what happened that night.

Three days ago, I let Emily get on that plane without me,
but I wasn't going to stop until I knew she was safe. Just because someone else
was watching over her and she was no longer testifying didn't mean she was out
of the woods and a part of me just couldn't give up on her. I was determined to
get to the bottom of this and find out who was still going to come after her. I
was determined to find that manipulative little shit stain brother of hers,
too.

He had a play in more than just manipulating her into
testifying to keep him out of trouble. He had a hand in Daniel's death and I
was so close, I could almost taste it. I made my assumptions, but I wasn't
going to run with anything until I learned more.

Ash had tried to talk me into going straight to Emily and
making sure she was okay, but after a brief argument, she stopped pushing me
about it. I told her and Luke what Emily confessed to and wasn't surprised when
neither one of them could really blame her.

I was still angry that she had lied to me, but I understood
why she did it. I just didn't agree with
how
she did it and how she
could look me in the eyes and tell me she loved me after putting me and my
family in danger.

At least, that's the argument I used with Ash.

"Get over yourself, Con! I would have done the exact
same thing."

"Really?" I replied sarcastically. "You would
have jeopardized a murder trial and investigation, lied to a hundred people
because you were manipulated into it by someone who you knew you should never
trust in the first place, risked time in prison, possibly put an innocent man
in prison, and put a family in danger who, by the way, took you in and
protected you?"

"Yes. If it meant protecting you? Hell yes!"

I hadn't been expecting that answer and I stood there
staring at my little sister, the little sister who loved me unconditionally,
just like Emily had loved
her
brother.

"I don't even know what to say to that," I grumbled,
feeling the first sting of guilt that maybe I had made a mistake. It was wrong
to feel guilty, but I couldn't help it.

"You don't have to say a damn thing, Con. You wouldn't
be able to change it. Hell, I would have done even more than what Emily did. I
wouldn't have ever confessed to it. In fact, I probably would have kept right
on lying even if I
had
fallen in love."

"You don't know what you're saying."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "I do! That's not the
problem here, though. Family, loyalty. Isn't that what you put over your heart
when Mom died?"

Luke was watching her rip into me and refused to look my way
or defend me. He completely agreed with her. He'd risked his job and his life
to protect my sister and he would do the same for me and Gus. I knew it without
a doubt.

"Forget the honesty part, just think of what came
first. That brother of hers is the only person that kept her going when she
lost her parents and you may think she didn't miss them, but I know different.
She didn't miss them for her, it was for
him
. She would do anything for
that man because she is
loyal
to her
family
. But she was going to
give it up for
you
with the hope that maybe,
just maybe
, he would
be okay in the end. Now, I know that doesn't make it right, but I really don't think
she felt like she had a choice, brother."

"There's always a choice," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well sometimes we all make the wrong ones.
Doesn't mean we're terrible people, it just means we make mistakes. That girl
wants
to believe her family is salvageable, even if she knows it's not possible.
"

For the first time ever, my little sister had officially put
me in my place. No pretending she had won just to make her feel better, no
trickery. She was right.

"You love her, Con. You're not complete without her and
I can only imagine how incomplete she feels right now. Don't throw that away,
please. You'll live the rest of your life miserable because you let the love of
your life go over a mistake. She did exactly what she needed to do in order to
protect her family. Even if it
was
stupid."

I didn't need to hear anything else. I knew what I had to
do.

I stood and walked out of the kitchen where we had been
arguing to go to my father's office.

"Where are you going?" Ash called out behind me. I
could hear the smile in her voice and I grinned at her enthusiasm. She may be
wise now, but she was still a dork.

"To fix this."

I'd spent the next few hours scheduling flights and going
over the case files. Gus had called and we spent another hour discussing all
the possible scenarios that could have played out that night. Including the
very real possibility that Stanton Ripley was an innocent man. Luke had been
included in that discussion and made an interesting point.