"Nothing to be sorry about," he said and the deep baritone of his voice slid over her skin, making her shiver. "I'm Conall Brannock. You must be Emily."
She nodded slowly and tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. God, this is embarrassing. For the first time in a long time, she moved her gaze down to her feet and didn't look a man in the eye. She prayed the floor would open up and swallow her or that her mouth would for once stay shut on its own. She wanted to throw out every curse word she knew for letting herself look so vulnerable, but it was out of her control.
It was just her luck to be in the presence of a beautiful man and not stand her ground. Again, another reason why she felt like she was losing herself. She raised a teenage boy on her own, nothing was harder than that and she still could have done better.
She was only vaguely aware of Julia talking and telling him how bumpy the flight had been and how she was looking forward to relaxing tonight. She was, however, extremely aware of his gaze that hadn't left her once. She could feel the burn in her skin from his stare, but she was too chicken to look up. She didn't want to know what he saw and she was certain she would find out if she looked up at him.
"That's great, Jules. I've got a hotel room set up for you and a driver scheduled to bring you back here tomorrow morning," he stated casually.
"What? You mean I'm not staying with you… both, with you both for the night?"
Emily sighed at the tone of Julia's voice. Whiny and completely clueless. She finally looked up to see Officer Brannock roll his eyes to the ceiling and it made her want to smile. She wasn't the only one then.
"No, Jules, and for the last time, I'm not going to sleep with you."
Her jaw dropped at the bluntness he used with his fellow officer and felt only a little sorry for Julia, but when the woman giggled and put a hand on his arm and squeezed, the concern she felt disappeared. Julia had no self respect and it disappointed her. It's women like this that make the rest of us look bad.
He shrugged her off with a frown and reached toward Emily, "Here, let me take this." Without waiting for her approval, he slid the strap of her bag off her shoulder, being mindful of the hair still tangled there and lifted it onto his own shoulder before his frown tipped up into a polite smile. This time, his white teeth popped into view and she immediately got the urge to fan herself.
"Thank you, Officer Brannock," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound too weak and breathless.
"Conall. Please, call me Conall."
She smiled, but it didn't last. Julia scoffed and shoved passed her, walking toward the luggage carousel across the terminal with an exaggerated sway of her hips. Conall shrugged as they started to follow after her and they both shared another eye roll.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that the whole way here," he muttered. "She isn't easy to… well, she's too easy, that's the problem."
Emily felt a giggle bubble up her throat and tried to stifle it unsuccessfully. After a few more steps, she stopped, realizing he wasn't next to her anymore. She looked back and he was standing a few feet behind her with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Staring at her.
"Is everything okay?" she asked and started to look around, wondering what had shocked him so much.
His mouth snapped shut and he closed his eyes and shook his head, his shaggy hair falling over his forehead. "Um, yeah, sorry. I just… nothing. I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't very professional," he mumbled and she swore she saw a slight pink tint his cheeks, but he walked passed her too quickly for her to confirm it.
She understood he must feel guilty, but she was glad he had said it. The humor had made the tightness in her shoulders ease a little.
They waited only five minutes before her two bags appeared. Conall had immediately taken them from her and led the way out the terminal doors. Julia was walking beside her and shooting daggers with her eyes, but Emily didn't give her any indication she was aware of it. People like that fed off of a response and seeing as how she wouldn't be around much longer, Emily didn't feel like egging her on.
They arrived at the short term parking area and stopped at a big silver truck that looked brand new. She had never owned a new car let alone been inside one.
Conall lifted her bags into the bed and she watched the muscles in his arms flex while a tingle of longing crept through her chest. It had been so long since she had been with a man and she missed the feel of strong arms surrounding her and keeping her safe. That was the excuse she kept giving herself at least. She was 26 years old and there was no reason to be gawking at the man like that. He was obligated to spend time with her and as far as she knew, that time wouldn't be spent watching the calendar move closer and closer to the trial. Deputy Ross had made her feel comfortable, but she never forgot her circumstances. Not for one single second.
The stress had been overwhelming and a part of her had been hoping those men would succeed in taking her away just to give her a break from the constant worry.
She pushed the thought out of her head because it didn't belong there. This wasn't about her and never would be. She had a job to do and nothing was going to stop her from doing it. She just wanted her brother safe. She wanted her family back.
Conall opened the door to the backseat for Julia and the look on her face was priceless. After all the boasting she did on the plane, it seemed she didn't handle rejection as well as Emily thought. She climbed in and without a moment's hesitation, he slammed the door behind her as if to say 'Good riddance'.
He moved to the front passenger door and opened it, but she didn't move from her spot. She just couldn't get her feet to approach the truck and he watched her warily for a few seconds.
"You alright, Emily?"
He said her name familiarly, like it belonged on his tongue, and it made her all the more afraid to go through with this fiasco. How much time would it take before she spilled her guts? One simple look from him and she knew all her secrets would scatter out in front of her. She could feel it in her bones.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just…" She took a deep breath and raked her fingers through her blonde hair, pulling through several knots along the way. She had been such a mess since her brother had called her that horrible night and it didn't look like the last several weeks of protection had changed anything.
She was alone when she talked to the police, she was alone when she sat through the deposition, and she'd been alone when the ground beneath her had shifted permanently. The next couple months didn't look too bright, but for some reason, she didn't think she would feel alone. Not when Conall was looking at her the way he was.
He stepped away from the truck and stood in front of her, keeping only a foot between them, forcing her to tilt her head back to look up at him. What would he think of her dilemma? She wondered if he already knew somehow.
She lived in fear of that every day. Did they know she was a lying piece of work? Did they know she would do anything to save her little brother from a lifetime of suffering even if it meant she would suffer instead?
They couldn't know that, but she wondered. And worried.
"I know you are scared and I know this has probably taken a lot out of you, but I promise you that while you are with me, you will be as safe as you could possibly be."
He couldn't know how much those words actually meant to her, but she couldn't let them penetrate. She had heard them before and it made no difference. Regardless, she felt her lips twitch into a grin, "That's a little conceited, don't you think?"
He frowned and she wanted to kick herself. Either he thought she was flirting or that she was a bitch, both of which were not what she wanted him to think at all. She ran her teeth over her bottom lip and forced herself to keep her chin up. He glanced down at her lips quickly before meeting her eyes again and the move made her catch her breath. He looked irritated. Maybe he was barely containing his annoyance at his new assignment as much as she was.
"Not conceited. Confident. I take my job seriously. Not gonna
stop now." He turned away from her and wrapped his fingers around the handle of the door that was still opened and waiting for her. When he turned back to her, his expression was solemn, but his eyes had softened. "Especially now."
She wanted to ask what he meant by that, but Julia was huffing and puffing in the back seat already and it wasn't like it mattered anyway. It wasn't necessary to question him or even get to know him.
Especially now.
She climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in while Conall made his way around the truck. He really was the most handsome man she had ever met, but there was something closed off about him. Something hard in the way he carried himself that completely contradicted the warmth in his blue eyes.
The complete opposite of her brother. Rayce carried himself like he didn't have a care in the world, but his eyes were hard and cold. Emily always wondered where he got his personality from. Both of their parents were anything but serious. Looking at the two of them together, it was the hair and eyes that pointed out their relation. The day their parents died, however, had taken away the unique brightness in the green eyes they shared. Hers had softened over the years, understanding that life was life, but Rayce's had only grown colder.
She had spent the last few years trying to change it, but nothing she did had made any kind of difference. She hoped what she was about to do would see to that.
The thought brought her back to the present and what she was supposed to do.
Stay off the grid for a couple months.
Testify.
Move on.
Of course, moving on after testifying against the beloved brother of a major crime boss was going to be impossible, but it was still a goal. Once it was over, she would convince her brother to leave the life he was living behind and they could finally be a family. She just had to get through this.
Conall played with the radio for a minute before finding a station he was satisfied with and turning the volume just loud enough to fill the silence. He steered the truck out of the short term parking and Emily kept her eyes toward her window, watching as they passed cars dropping off and picking up loved ones while they slowly made their way out of the airport.
Her thoughts drifted to what her life was like several months ago. Busy, but peaceful. No one walked all over her because she didn't let them. No one except her brother, apparently.
She had loved her job at the middle school teaching English and the kids made her happy. She wondered if she would ever be able to teach again or if that phase in her life had been incinerated also. She would just have to be patient and take life as it came.
"You know any bars close to the hotel I will be staying in?" Julia chimed from the back sarcastically, apparently not quite over the rejection, but planning her next move for tonight.
"One in the hotel that's pretty fancy," Conall replied.
She didn't say anything, but Emily could imagine she was still shooting daggers her way as she glued her eyes to the window. She couldn't be sure how much time had passed, but the people on the street and the businesses flying by told her they were probably getting close to their destination. She had never been to California and hoped the opportunity to go to the ocean would be available to her at some point in her stay. This wasn't a vacation, but everyone needed a little break now and then. Even someone like Conall Brannock.
"Is the place I will be staying in close to a beach?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the road.
"We are a port town so there aren't a lot, but there are a few nice ones you could visit. Not right away, though," Conall answered.
"I understand. I've never seen the ocean so I just thought it might be fun."
Silence filled the inside of the truck again and she could almost hear Julia's impatience to get out of there and wondered how it would be to live your life from bed to bed. It seemed that's what she did for recreation and Emily felt a little dirty just from sitting next to her for so long.
They drove up to a luxurious looking hotel and Conall parked the truck at the front doors and climbed out to open the door for Julia. He may not have thought much of the woman, but he was still a gentleman. She watched Julia sashay into the hotel lobby while several pairs of hungry eyes followed her movements. Emily didn't feel like she was ugly, but she knew she wouldn't ever get that kind of attention when she walked into a room.
"Wonder what that's like," she said to herself, not realizing Conall had returned already.
"It's unfulfilling," he grumbled next to her.
She yelped in surprise and his lips twitched with amusement before he turned the ignition. He again played with the radio for a moment, then shifted into drive without another word and took off.
Unfulfilling. It sounded about right to her and she wondered if he knew from experience.
"We are going to be staying at my father's house for a little while. It's all I have available until I can make some arrangements."
She nodded even though he wasn't looking at her. She assumed that the last minute assignment would be an inconvenience and wasn't surprised at the subtle hint of exasperation he was already showing.
"He's not there is he?" she asked. The man's son was already putting his life in danger to protect her, no reason why anyone else should have to do the same.
"He is, but he will be leaving town soon. He's retiring from the force in a few days. He knows what's going on so no need to worry."
She didn't respond. No need to worry. The thought of putting someone in danger who wasn't supposed to be involved made her nauseous. She didn't want to be responsible for that, too. She would just have to trust him.
"When we get to the house, we need to go over everything that is going to happen," he said and turned into a subdivision full of big houses of all varieties.
"That's fine," she replied absently and watched the houses pass, mesmerized by the size and beauty of them.
Rayce and her had never lived in anything so big. It was always studio apartments, trashy houses, or motel rooms. An 18 year old couldn't really afford much better, especially with a 13 year old to take care of. She had done her best to provide for him until he was able to finish school, but once he did, it felt like everything she had done was pointless. He still went with the wrong crowd and he still got into trouble.
They still struggled. Then it was just her.
It wasn't until she started teaching that he showed up again to help her out. He had somehow come upon a boatload of money and helped her pay off her student loans, but she didn't want anything more. She knew the money wasn't from a hard day's work and she didn't want to touch it. He tried to push it onto her, but was never successful. It was the one thing they had always argued about and the one thing that kept them apart.
Rayce lived for money and nothing else.
Emily sighed and laid her head against the headrest as they pulled into the driveway of a beautiful house. A home.
"Here we are. My father is a really good guy and will most likely fall in love with you right away…" he trailed off and his eyes widened, almost like he had surprised himself by saying that.
Emily didn't think it would be wise to comment even though it was one of the best compliments she had ever received.
"Just make yourself at home," he grumbled, then he was gone.
She suppressed a smile and got out of the truck just as he made it to her door. He frowned at her and she immediately went on guard. So far, he had been polite to her, but the irritation she sensed was only growing.
"What?"
He shrugged and lifted her bags out of the back, "You ever let a man open your door?"
She thought about that for a moment and realized that it wasn't that she never let a man open her door, it was just that they never really had. "Guess I haven't really had the chance."
He frowned, but didn't say more before he walked passed her with her bags toward the front door of the house. She followed behind him and wondered why something like that would even be a concern for him.
>
He was about to open the front door when it was pulled open quickly from the other side and a dark haired woman stood in the doorway. She was in a sling and looked like she had been through quite the ordeal, but she had a huge smile on her face. She was gorgeous and her gray eyes sparkled when they took in Conall.
Emily wasn't sure why, but a spark of jealousy coursed through her. This woman loved Conall, you could see it all over her face. A face, she suddenly realized, looked a lot like his.
"It's about damn time, Con! I have been waiting all morning for you. Gus is driving me nuts and I need you to run some interference," she pleaded.
"Where the hell is Luke?" he asked her as she cleared the doorway to let them in.
She rolled her eyes then scowled at him. "At work. I talked him into going and leaving me the hell alone for the day so don't get your panties in a twist. My problem is Gus who feels the need to get kicked in the-"
"Ash! Come on, we've got company," Conall scolded, but Emily caught the amused grin on his face as he leaned down and kissed the woman on the cheek.
"Who is this?" she asked casually and Emily felt her cheeks burn. She was still standing on the porch like a lost puppy and wanted to kick herself for being so hesitant.
"This is Emily Dawson," Conall said and waved her inside.
"Oh! Right! Gus was telling us about the case. I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this."
Conned Page 2
