Buried Lies (Hidden Truths)

by Brittney Sahin

  I shut my eyes to savor the blitz of heat that shot through my system at his simple touch. I didn’t want to think about the mistakes of our past, anymore. Too much had happened, and I just wanted my “two minutes” with Connor. Only, I wanted them to last a lifetime.

  “Does Mason know about what happened? With Declan? Konstantin?” My eyes fluttered open after he released my hand. “Your father?”

  He turned away from me and started the car. “I told him this morning.”

  “Oh. How’d it go?”

  “If he could’ve reached me, he would have smacked me in the back of the head for not opening my father’s letter as soon as I got it.” He gripped the stick shift as he pulled out onto the main road. “I’ve kicked myself every day since then.”

  “Thankfully, no one else got hurt.” Blake had begrudgingly told the FBI where to find Sean. He had been tied up in a different facility owned by Reid Enterprises. Bruised, but alive. Thank God. “Everything happens for a reason. We took down the Russian mafia. Kind of crazy, right?”

  He slipped me a sideways grin. “I just lent a hand. You did the hard work—all those months with Declan.” He grimaced.

  After a few minutes, he asked, “How’s everything going?”

  I stared down at Connor’s hand on top of the stick shift and had the sudden desire to slip it between my thighs.

  I looked away and out the window as we drove down the empty road, which was lined with trees and green rolling hills. “It’s good. The FBI’s working with Homeland, the DEA, and even the military. Konstantin’s reach extends everywhere, and many people are involved.” It was an intricate web, but it was unraveling fast for Konstantin.

  “Are you staying in the FBI?”

  I laced my fingers together on my lap and studied them as if my hands had all of the answers. “Not sure. I joined because I wanted revenge for my sister. I’m not sure if there’s a place for me there anymore.”

  Connor’s hand was on top of mine now. Warmth spread from my fingers down my arms and throughout my body.

  “You can always join the road with me.”

  “Join the road? What happened to the company?”

  He pulled up in front of the hotel. “I hired someone to manage it until Mason can take over.”

  I nodded. “Is Mason okay with that?”

  “He yelled at me. A lot.” Connor flashed me his white teeth. “But he’ll get over it.”

  I rolled my tongue over my teeth, contemplating our future—what to say—but he went ahead and got out of the car. He grabbed my bag and tossed the keys to the valet. “Would you like your own room or . . .?” He reached for my hand and pulled me up against him.

  We were standing in the middle of the lobby with people surrounding us, and of course, Connor didn’t care. My breasts pushed against his hard chest, and he held me close to him.

  His fingers combed through my hair before his hand cupped the back of my neck. “We can share,” I whispered before I bit my lip. His eyes darkened, mirroring the lust I felt, which had percolated for the last month in his absence.

  “Good answer.” He yanked on my hand, hurried us out of the lobby and to our first floor room.

  As soon as the light turned green on the lock, he scooped me into his arms.

  He set me on the bed and stared down at me, his chest rising and falling. “I know you’re tired, and so am I, but—”

  I slipped my T-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. “I don’t care. I want you.”

  He groaned and lunged onto the bed, his hand sliding under my back as he braced himself on top of me. His tongue met mine, and for the first time in my entire life, I felt at peace.

  His lips traveled to my neck, and he teased me with his fingers as he pinched my nipple beneath my lace bra. “I’d never grow tired of this,” he whispered into my ear, his breath creating a ripple of shivers throughout my body.

  I arched my back and bucked my hips as he worked to remove my skinny jeans, which was no easy feat.

  “Are these glued to your legs?” He pulled and tugged, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Finally,” he said, tossing them over his shoulder before reaching for the button of his pants.

  Perching myself up on my elbows, I watched as he stripped before me. His tan chest, defined abs, and—I wet my lips—rather incredible hard-on—had set my pulse racing. I unclipped my bra and tucked my thumbs under the line of my panties before pulling them down.

  The white of his eyes were less visible as the beautiful green grew wider. A low growl escaped from his lips.

  “I love you, Connor Matthews.” The words came from my mouth before I realized I’d said them.

  After staring down at me for what felt like forever, his mouth pressed to mine, which delivered an irresistible blow to my insides. My thighs tightened around where his hand shifted, and he had my body moving in rhythm with his touch. “I could do this forever,” he said into my ear as my body shuddered from orgasm.

  I jerked up against him as his hard cock filled my wet center, and I gripped his shoulders, trying to support myself as I cried with every thrust.

  His eyes remained on mine as he moved, and I was captivated by him. “And I plan on doing it forever.”

  My hands wandered over his muscled biceps, which were flexed as he held his weight above me. “Connor,” I cried out again as I felt the delicious ache between my legs stirring. “Yesssss . . .”

  He lowered his head as his body convulsed a few minutes later, and he sank next to me and pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Liv. I never stopped.” He kissed the top of my head, and I drifted to sleep.

  ***

  Connor

  “Olivia?”

  With closed eyes, I felt around the bed, finding it empty. Where was she?

  I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I could have sworn I’d heard a door shut.

  “Olivia?” Forcing my eyes open, I discovered the bedroom empty, and the bathroom door closed.

  My legs felt like dead weight as I moved to the bathroom, desperate to get more sleep. I’d been awake for seventy-two hours before Olivia had arrived at the hospital, after all.

  I still couldn’t believe she’d flown to Germany to be there for Mason, for me.

  I had been so wrong years ago, but I planned on spending the rest of our lives making it up to her. She was the woman I was meant to be with.

  It was fate.

  Jim’s words were in my mind once as I reached for the doorknob. Second chances are few and far between.

  And I was being given my second chance.

  “Olivia, are you okay?” I tapped at the door and touched the round knob, but it was locked.

  “Just a second, Connor,” she responded in a strained voice.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Hang on.”

  I heard the toilet flush. Then running water.

  A couple minutes ticked by as I sat naked on the bed, waiting.

  “Sorry.” She opened the door and stood fully dressed in its frame.

  “Why’d you get dressed? I wasn’t done with you.”

  Her bottom lip tucked between her teeth and her eyes darted to the floor.

  I was on my feet. At the sight of her, concern gripped hold of me. I touched her chin and guided her face up toward mine. “What is it, Liv?”

  “Do you believe in second chances?” she asked in a soft voice.

  Was she a mind reader? “You’re here, aren’t you?”

  “I mean—” She reached into her pocket.

  I studied what she held in the palm of her hand, and I dropped to my knees. For the first time since my friend died in Iraq, emotion pushed through me, and I allowed it to escape.

  Olivia was in front of me, and I crushed her against me. “We’re having a baby?” I choked out, reaching for the pregnancy test.

  I stared down at the two stripes on the test and rubbed a hand over my face.

  Her eyes welled with tears, and she nodded. “What d
o you think?” Her voice broke.

  My thumb touched her cheeks, smoothing away the tears. “I think we’d better have a boy. Because I don’t know how I’ll ever handle a daughter of mine dating. If she looks anything like her mother . . .” I scrubbed a hand over my short beard.

  She tilted her head back, and the sweetest sound filled my ears—her laughter. “I can see it now—the shotgun by the door.” She shook her head at me as her lips opened into a broad smile. “I think you’d make a daughter proud.”

  **Continue for BONUS MATERIAL**

  COMING SOON: Jake’s story will be out later this year. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you know of the release, and you can snatch the book up on sale.

  COMING SOON: The Forever Series. Stand-alone contemporary romance novels. Experience a different city. A different couple. A new chance to fall in love. FOREVER ROME- September ’16.

  Special Extended Extract from Innocence & Betrayal, book 2 in the Hidden Truth series:

  Do you like action and suspense—mixed with romance (and a sexy Irish accent)?

  Reserved biochemist Ava Daniels has spent the last six months working on a top secret assignment for Homeland Security. One morning, after a night of finally letting loose, she discovers her lab empty and her boss missing. Interrogated by the very organization she works for, followed by unknowns, and attacked, Ava finds herself in search of answers as the clock winds down. Aiden O’Connor, Irish born and raised, attempted to put his past behind him when he opened a bar in the heart of Boston. One night, Ava Daniels shows up to his bar asking for help. She is like no other woman he has ever met—breathtakingly beautiful, brilliant, and in terrible danger. Once he learns the true nature of her problem, Aiden realizes she is the key to unlock his past . . . and perhaps to get a second chance. Innocence & Betrayal is the second novel in the Hidden Truths series. It is a stand-alone book, which features characters from Silenced Memories and Buried Lies.

  Continue to read the first 4 chapters.

  Extract from Innocence & Betrayal

  Chapter One

  Speechless. Was that really a thing? Ava never thought it was possible to go completely mute, but at that moment, she had. Her mouth ajar, she stared at the empty room with wide eyes, feeling as though someone had knocked her so hard in the cheek that she couldn’t see straight.

  A deep whiff of bleach assaulted her senses as her purse slipped to the ground, thudding loudly against the floor. Ava’s hands pressed against her abdomen in an attempt to calm the sickness that pooled in the pit of her stomach.

  “Hello?” she called. Her feet started to move through the room and down the hall. She darted into the first lab on the left and her brows knitted together in surprise. She hesitated for a moment, willing her feet to move again.

  When she made her way to the last lab in the building, she doubled over and pushed her hands to her knees, an attempt to slow her rapid breathing.

  Empty. The entire damn building was a wasteland of white walls and concrete floors. There was absolutely . . . freaking . . . nothing.

  The muscles in her chest constricted as she inhaled. Henry. I need to call him.

  Her Nikes hauled her back to the main entrance, which was the only place to get a decent signal. She rummaged through her massive purse, cursing herself for carrying such a big bag, and for filling it to the max. “There you are.”

  Coming upright with her smartphone in hand, Ava scrolled through her favorites, tapped Henry’s name, and waited with impatience for him to answer his phone.

  Henry’s fuzzy voicemail, which she’d been on him to fix for at least three months now, crackled loudly in her ears like a death-knell. “Shit.”

  She phoned him again and again, compulsively pressing the call button in her need for him to answer.

  Her voice quavered when she gave in and left a message. “Henry, call me. Right away.”

  Two years back, Ava had trained for a moment like this, never expecting that it would come, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember a blessed thing about the protocol. Frantic, she searched through the other favorites in her phone.

  “Come on, Kat.” When Kat’s phone went straight to voicemail without even a ring, Ava began to wonder if she were dreaming. Was this some strange, alcohol-induced nightmare?

  Her last hope was Eddie. “So help me God, please pick up.” There were only four people who worked in the lab, after all, and no one else knew a damned thing.

  “What in the hell is going on?” She cringed as she chucked her phone back into her brown bag and rubbed her shaky hands over her face.

  She’d never been inside Henry’s home, but she’d dropped him off one time when he got sloshed after work. The man had become like a father to her, and she’d insisted he take a break from work for his birthday last month. They went for a few drinks, and a few for him turned into about seven gin and tonics. That was the only time she’d ever witnessed Henry’s brain work at even a slightly reduced level.

  Even then, you couldn’t forget that he was a genius. A mad scientist, even. The man was her idol.

  And now he was missing.

  She jerked at the handle of her car and hopped inside. Henry’s place was only five minutes away. She pushed the little red sedan to its limits on the highway, not giving a damn about the police.

  As she came to a stop in front of his townhome, Ava noticed his silver town car was missing, and she doubted it was in the garage. He has to be here, though. He just has to be. It was already past eight in the morning.

  As she walked to his front door, the Maryland sun helped ease the balance of the cooler-than-normal September air. Prickly bumps of unease raced over her skin as her fist pounded on his door. She rubbed her hands over her arms before ringing the bell a few times.

  Peering up at the pale blue shutters of the windows on the top floor, she wondered, hoped, that he was inside—and that everything was okay.

  As she was about to ring the bell again, Ava caught sight of someone exiting the neighboring townhome. “Excuse me!” she called, hurrying over, her hand waving in the air.

  The old woman crinkled her brow and pulled a small cat close to her chest. Was she afraid of her? Seriously? “Ma’am? Have you seen Henry? He lives next door, and I’m worried about him.”

  The woman studied Ava for a moment, her dark brown eyes taking in every inch of her. “I never see him. I didn’t even know his name, to be honest. He’s never home.”

  Of course not. He practically lives at the lab. Before Ava had a chance to speak again, the woman grabbed her newspaper from off her walkway and returned to her house.

  Desperate, Ava tried Henry’s door one more time, shaking on the handle a bit to see if she could get in. But finally, she knew that it was time to face the music.

  She had to go to Aberdeen. She had to report to Homeland Security.

  ***

  Ava stared at the security guard. He was a beast of a man—a cross between an NFL linebacker and the Hulk. She wondered what he was thinking as he squinted in her direction, his forehead wrinkling as his shoulders arched back. His gaze screamed total disapproval.

  “I’m sorry, but you aren’t in the system. I can’t let you in.”

  “What do you mean I’m not on the list? I’m a government employee. Until six months ago, I came in to work here every day.” His eyebrow seemed to query what she had been up to the last six months. “Does Tom still work here? He knows me.” She tried to remain calm, pressing her hands against her sides as if to slow her heartbeat with the strength of their pressure. She didn’t want him to sense the fact that panic and fear had planted root in her body, entangling every inch of her.

  “No, he’s not here, and it doesn’t make any difference. You’re not getting in.”

  No! She couldn’t back down. “I’m not leaving until I talk with Director Frank Harris. Please, this is a matter of national security.” She rubbed her sweaty palms against her hoodie and reached for the zipper, feeling suddenly
too hot.

  The guard cocked his head to the side and reached for a phone. “I have an Ava Daniels here, requesting to see Mr. Harris,” he said with a deep voice, studying the name on her ID badge.

  Thank God. Ava’s patience level was somewhere between zero and nuclear as she waited for him to hang up.

  “Someone will be down in a moment.”

  She bit back an “I told you so” and, instead, nodded and took a seat on the black bench near the metal detector, draping her hoodie on her lap. She watched as the minutes ticked by on the digital wall clock across from her, trying not to think about how Henry could be falling into greater danger with every passing moment. She attempted to fight back the steady stream of scenarios that crowded her mind. Her heartbeat grew louder in her ears as fear gripped coldly at her insides. What if terrorists had infiltrated the lab? Dressed in black, because why wouldn’t they be? They’d grabbed Henry, tortured him for information, and wiped away all evidence before going after Kat and Eddie . . . because Henry wouldn’t betray his country. No, they’d have to kill him first.

  She blanched at the thought.

  But surely they would have come after me, too?

  But perhaps they had, only to find her gone. She’d crashed at Becca’s hotel in Baltimore last night.

  “Ava Daniels?”

  She squinted at the middle-aged man, wondering if something was wrong with her eyesight. “You aren’t Frank Harris.”

  He ran a hand over his smooth jaw before extending it in her direction. “I’m Alex Jeffrey. Frank Harris is no longer working here.”

  She blinked a few times before examining his outstretched hand. She stood up and clasped his as she inhaled a deep breath. “Who are you?”

  “His replacement. The director of this division of Homeland.”

  She pressed her lips together in a straight line. Can you be trusted?

  “We need to talk.”

  “I gathered as much.” He motioned for her to follow him.

  After completing her security check, she followed the stranger to the elevators and forced down the lump in her throat. “What happened to Frank?” she asked as they waited for the elevator doors to open.