Imprisoned Match [Ménage.com 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

With a wink, Willow pushed herself up from the counter and walked to the door, saying that she’d see her tomorrow. Anna wasn’t sure she even replied, having been so astounded by Willow’s comments. Mitch had been in jail. What crime had he committed to be given ten years? It wasn’t like she had the right to judge, considering the way she’d spent her life. In the end, it wouldn’t matter anyway. The only reason she had agreed to have dinner with them this evening was to cut them off at the knees. Having dealt with these types of men before, the alpha ones, she knew it was always better to deal with them directly, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Anna couldn’t afford a distraction that came in the form of two men, especially men who made her wish she’d chosen a different path. As it was, she’d been able to gather information on her target. He had integrated himself into this town with a false story of being someone’s nephew. This “uncle” had died and so was not able to dispute these claims. While everyone seemed to like him, no one really knew his back story. Anna wasn’t sure why that hadn’t raised any alarms with the townsfolk, but by the time she was done, everyone would know that he was the one responsible for the demise of her family.

Anna walked into the diner, expecting both Elliott and Mitch to be waiting for her. After all, she was running ten minutes behind. Much to her surprise, Mitch was by himself, sitting in the back booth. When he saw her enter, he stood and waited for her to walk the length of the diner. It made her feel as if she were on a runway in Paris. She briefly wondered if he’d done that on purpose but then realized it didn’t matter. After this evening, Mitch and Elliott Braxton would be one less thing that she would have to worry about.

“I apologize for being late,” Anna said.

“That’s all right,” Mitch said, his voice as rough and sensual as she remembered. He had a presence that seemed to overtake the room. “Elliott had to finish up something at the garage. I wanted to speak with you alone anyway.”

The way he said those words was ominous. Anna slowly sat down. She was afraid she was going to have to make a run for it. Had Cyn figured out who Anna really was and ratted her out? Had Agent Monroe not done his job in getting Cyn to look the other way while Anna completed her mission? She looked around to see if her target was anywhere in sight. Maybe the Contractor had caught on to her and convinced everyone she was here to cause him trouble. After all, the entire town believed he was an upstanding citizen.

“About?”

“Let me cut to the chase,” Mitch said, shifting in his seat and placing his arms on the table. “I didn’t have anything to do with Elliott sending that message through the dating service. I’m not looking for a relationship and I don’t want one. To be honest, when we met the other day, I thought something was off. So I’m here to fess up. I made a few calls and—”

Mitch’s mouth kept moving, but Anna didn’t comprehend anything after that. He had called someone about her. The blood rushed to her head and her heart rate accelerated. Blackness pushed around the edge of her vision, and Anna knew that she needed to take deep breaths to regain her composure. She’d come this far without having been discovered. Nothing and no one was going to stop her now, not even the two men who made her wish things were different.

Anna tightened her hand on her purse. Not knowing how long this part of her plan was going to take, Anna had checked into the B&B down the road. After leaving the diner earlier, she’d gone over there to take her suitcase up to her room and change into a clean pair of jeans. Using her real name, Anna didn’t have to worry about the immaculate wardrobe that Anna Cruz wore or the black wig that always seemed to get in the way. Right when she was about to make a run for it, the tail end of what Mitch was saying broke through the sound barrier.

“…glad to know that you are who you say you are. Regardless, when Elliott gets back, you two can get to know each other and take it from there. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not in the market.”

Anna caught movement over Mitch’s shoulder. The Contractor was standing by the counter, watching them. Had he heard what Mitch had said regarding the calls he had made? She should have paid better attention to what he found out, but the shock that he had even looked into her background had taken her focus away from the priority at hand. Seeing the scrutiny in her target’s eyes, Anna did the first thing that came to mind—she leaned over the table and kissed Mitch.

The minute Anna’s mouth pressed against his, all thought fled from her mind. The noise of the diner faded as his warm lips parted in surprise. They were smooth and soft, and she couldn’t prevent her tongue from slipping between hers, seeking his taste. Coffee and something masculine exploded on her taste buds, leaving her wanting more. The tingling sensations she felt on her chin were from his abrasive whiskers, but instead of irritating her skin, it felt erotic and arousing. She wanted to know what they would feel like in other more sensitive areas.

“I can see things are starting off well.”

Anna tore her lips from Mitch’s, sitting back in her booth. She looked up into Elliott’s eyes, the caramel coloring darkening, so like from her brief fantasy of him the other night. Did seeing her kiss his brother arouse him? She couldn’t prevent herself from looking down. Well, the bulge answered her question. Reason finally slammed into her. What was it about these two men that had her acting like a teenage girl?

“That wasn’t a good idea,” Anna said in a low voice. She looked around the diner. The Contractor was no longer there. Her action of kissing Mitch must have had its desired effect. She now needed to focus on clearing up any misconceptions she’d caused and get her act together. “I only agreed to meet with you because I needed to have my interview for this job, and you were intent on keeping me from it by wanting to talk. Well, we’re talking, and I’m telling you I’m not interested in dating either of you.”

Anna would have gotten up from the table had Elliott not slid in beside her, effectively blocking her exit. The heat from his body surrounded her, giving her the answer she had been seeking earlier. It
was
her physical reaction to them that was distracting her. She needed to see beyond that and concentrate on staying alive.

“You kissing my brother seems to tell a different story,” Elliott said, turning so that one arm was on the booth behind her and his other was on the table. “I say let’s have that dinner we discussed and get to know one another better.”

Before Anna could disagree, Elliott had called the waitress over. This woman was older and Anna had not met her, so she must have been the waitress to clock in on the later shift. As Elliott started to place his order, Anna looked over at Mitch, who had yet to say anything since she’d kissed him. Hadn’t he been going to leave her and Elliott alone because he
wasn’t in the market
? Instead, he sat there studying her like she was a bug underneath a microscope. Had she thought his lips were soft? Because right now, they were compressed into a straight line and the concentration in his eyes made her feel as if he was seeing too much. She had instantly regretted kissing him, but now she truly understood what a mistake it had been.

“Dear? What would you like this evening?”

Anna tore her gaze away from Mitch, seeing that the waitress was waiting for her order. Looking down at her nametag, she saw that her name was Mary. Thinking quickly, Anna ordered a bowl of soup and waited for Mary to leave them in peace.

“So how was your first shift today?”

Anna debated answering. If she really wanted to leave, she knew Elliott would stand up and let her walk out of here. But she also knew that he wouldn’t give up trying to get her to go out with them, so the obvious solution was to sit here and pretend that they didn’t affect her in any way. She’d been in tougher situations.

“Fine,” Anna replied, sitting farther back in the booth. “It will do until something better opens up.”

“I’d have thought staying in the city would have been beneficial in finding something in regards to data entry.” Elliott leaned back as Mary returned with their drinks. She placed two waters on the table and a coffee for Mitch.

“Why did you sign up for a dating website?” Anna asked, trying to detour the route of conversation he was taking.

Hell, she had never done any type of data entry. That was something she’d made up so the people in her apartment complex didn’t question what she did with her days and nights. She lived off of her inheritance. Unfortunately, the money her parents had left her was dwindling at a very fast rate, but that was something she’d worry about once all this was over. Right now, she just needed to steer the conversation into a different direction. Mitch had still not spoken, making her more nervous as their “date” wore on.

“That’s a good question,” Elliott said, laughing. He seemed to know that she wasn’t comfortable and was making every effort to change that. She tried not to feel too guilty. They really did seem like nice men. Well, at least Elliott presented that type of aura. Mitch had an edge to him. “We’ve grown up around the ménage lifestyle and eventually, that’s the type of long-term relationship we would like to have. It was postponed for a while due to unforeseen circumstances, but now things seem to be falling into place.”

“Why beat around the bush?” Mitch said, finally breaking his silence. He looked at her over his coffee cup, before taking a sip. “I’m sure she’s already heard about my stint in jail.”

“Mitch,” Elliott said, as if using his name in warning.

“He’s right,” Anna replied. “Willow mentioned something about it. May I ask why you were in prison for ten years?”

“Murder. Mind telling me why you kissed me?”

Anna returned Mitch’s stare, watching him as he slowly sat his mug on the table. He had said the word as if she were going to get up from the table, screaming and running for the door. Mitch didn’t know that she had spent the majority of his prison term around criminals herself—they just happened to be on the outside. She’d come across plenty of murderers. No matter the charge and no matter what anyone said, Anna knew he wasn’t guilty of the crime he was accused of committing. There was something in the eyes of a murderer that Mitch didn’t possess. Sure, his time in a cell had probably hardened him in a way that made his mother cry, but his soul was innocent.

“Mitch, could we not do this here?” Elliott asked, looking discreetly around the diner. “Anna, I know my brother better than I know myself. He’s a good man. It’s a long story and better left to a time when we have some privacy. Please know that he’s not a murderer.”

“I don’t need you to defend me, little brother. If Ginger can’t handle that I’m a felon, then it’s better to know now.”

“Did you just call me Ginger?” Anna asked, not knowing if she should be offended by the redhead nickname. Did he not like redheads? Wait a second, she thought, stick to the topic at hand. It didn’t matter what type of women he liked. “I thought you weren’t in the market for a relationship. Have you changed your mind?”

The question popped out before she could stop it. My God, it was like raising a red flag in front of a bull. She hadn’t acted like herself since she’d met them. This wasn’t working, and she needed to change course and fast. A lightbulb went off above her head. The answer had been in front of her all along.

“Maybe I have. Maybe you’re an enigma that I want to figure out, because I’m growing quite fascinated with your red hair,” Mitch said, rubbing his stubble. “I think you are hiding something though, regardless of what my contacts found out.”

“Contacts? You had her investigated?” Anna could hear the outrage in Elliott’s voice. “Is there something going on here that I don’t know about?”

“Your brother is just wary of strangers.” Anna never broke eye contact with Mitch, waiting to see if any emotion made its way into his hardened eyes. “I can tell you exactly what he found out, which is what you read on my profile with some added details. Let me guess—you know that I lost my parents at the age of eighteen, around the same time I lost my brother. You know that I live in an apartment building in Phoenix and that I live off of my parents’ inheritance. Have I got things right so far?”

“For being twenty-nine years old, that’s a pretty short synopsis.”

“Not everyone can have such an exciting life as you, Mitch,” Anna replied sarcastically. Before he could respond, Mary brought their dinner. They all waited for her to place the plates on the table and leave. Elliott was fidgeting, and she could tell from the looks that he was throwing Mitch’s way that he wasn’t happy with the way his brother was acting. “I’m a boring girl, what can I say?”

“Mitch shouldn’t have invaded your privacy like that, Anna. I apologize.”

“We can change that,” Mitch answered, as if Elliott hadn’t spoken. The fire that ignited in his eyes was the first real sign that he felt the same blazing heat between them that she did. “Just say the word, and the three of us can head to our place. No strings attached.”

“Now wait a –”

“We go our separate ways in the morning,” Anna said, wanting to clarify his meaning. This was the best avenue to take and the answer to her problem. This passionate intensity between them wasn’t going to go away on its own. So the best course of action was to face it head on, extinguish it, and then do what she came to Triple to do. “I leave you alone and you leave me alone.”

“I’m not doing this,” Elliott said, leaning forward on the table, as if he could come between them and call a halt to these plans. “Whatever is going on between the three of us could be very special and I refuse to ruin it with a one-night stand.”