Chapter 6 Hits and Heists #4
A.J. gaped at him in alarm as another possibility slammed into him, one that made even more sense. “I can think of only one other explanation that would put both you and your sister in the vicinity of so many crime scenes.”
Aurora Cannon wasn’t a perfumer. Not even close. Nope. Nada. Negatory. She was a security consultant for Diamondback!
A.J. swung away from his companion, eyes glazing over. She’s been lying to me! The woman he’d kissed and held and confessed his love to. The woman he’d been daydreaming about proposing to. The woman he wanted to take ring shopping.
His brain hurt.
His chest ached.
His heart pounded.
Topping the razor-sharp pinnacle of her betrayal was the realization of just how wrong he’d been about her brother.
If Aaron hadn’t been moving around the country to steal jewelry, he’d been doing it to protect his sister and the mission of Diamondback Corporation.
And it had nearly cost him his life. Twice!
A.J. pivoted back in the guy’s direction, knowing he owed him a mountain of apologies, but no words came. Never before had he been so wrong about a person. Never before had his suspicions and preliminary conclusions been so off-track. It was the biggest mistake he’d ever made.
To Aaron’s credit, there wasn’t even a hint of triumph in his gaze. No gloating. Nothing but concern. “Why don’t you go talk to her while I wrap things up here?”
A.J. nodded dazedly, finally understanding how committed Aaron was to the pursuit of justice.
He should’ve been in bed. Instead, he was bagging evidence and preparing to chase down their next lead.
It was a solitary life, staying on the move the way he did.
He’d never win any longevity or popularity awards.
Even so, he was the walking, breathing definition of a real hero.
A.J. cleared his throat. There was so much he wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time. “Call me when you’re ready to head back. I’ll come pick you up.”
Aaron waved away his offer. “Nah, I’ll hitch a ride with the sheriff. Just…” He circled a finger in the air, making the rally sign.
Right. “I’m going.” A.J. jogged to his pickup and drove to his apartment, feeling like the weight of the universe was on his shoulders. He had no inkling what he was going to say when he next laid eyes on Aurora.
She was beautiful and clever, and her acting skills were worthy of an Oscar.
She sure had me fooled.
The hardest part about their coming confrontation was not knowing what her duplicity meant for their relationship.
Did she truly care for him, or had that all been an act, too?
No, that wasn’t even the hardest part. The hardest part was knowing that he’d completely fallen for her, lies and all.
He could only hope he hadn’t fallen for a woman who didn’t really exist.
He reached the massive white two-story on the lake with its four-car garage that his apartment rested on. Parking and jumping to the ground, he jogged up the stairs, pausing only when he reached the door.
Unsure what he was about to step into, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The first thing that met him was sublime warmth billowing from the heater vents on either side of the faux fireplace in the living room.
Normally, A.J. was more accustomed to returning to a cold apartment.
The second thing that met him was the scent of coffee.
The woman he so desperately needed to speak with was seated on the sofa.
Waiting.
Ready.
Someone had told her he was coming. Probably Aaron.
She stood and faced him.
Though his heart ached from her betrayal, she was still beautiful to him.
She would always be beautiful to him, even when she wasn’t trying to be.
Her white peasant blouse and faded jeans encased her slender figure to perfection, and her long blonde hair tumbled past her waistline, practically begging for him to run his fingers through it.
“Please.” She was the first to speak. “Don’t look at me like that.” Her voice shook. “I can’t bear it.”
He folded his arms, no more able to help the way he was looking at her than he could prevent the sun from rising or setting. He was too busy trying to figure out what was left of their relationship…if anything. It felt like his whole life depended on finding out.
She stepped closer to him. “Before you sentence me to hang, at least acknowledge that I haven’t been the only one lying.”
“Omitting,” he corrected mechanically. “I never lied to you and I never will. I just didn’t tell you everything.” There was a huge difference between fabricating stories and protecting someone he cared for from the full truth.
“Okay, fine. I lied to you if that’s what you want to call it.” She paused in front of him, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm.
It took a superhuman effort not to flinch. Or reach back. Or fall to his knees and beg her to keep loving him.
“What else would you call it?” His words came out so hoarse. He sounded nothing like himself.
“A cover story,” she supplied flatly. “Believe it or not, it has less to do with fooling anyone and more to do with keeping me alive.”
Though her words gave him hope, he was nowhere near satisfied. “When were you going to tell me?” He grated out the question.
“As soon as I could.” She gave him a pleading look, tightening her fingers on his arm. “My paranoid uncle has me tied up in knots with more confidentiality agreements than you can shake a stick at. Every time I turn around, he’s making more rules.”
“Was any of it real?” he demanded bitterly.
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Us, Aurora!” What else did she think he was upset about? “Was any of what we shared real?”
She blinked rapidly, eyes filling with tears.
Something inside him broke. He gathered her close. “So help me, Aurora,” he growled against her sweet-smelling temple, “if this is all an act—“
A wounded sound tore out of her. “A.J.!” Then her arms slid around his neck. She was weeping as she pressed her lips to his.
It was impossible not to react. And tug her closer still. And kiss her like his life depended on it, because maybe it did.
His tears mingled with hers as he pondered all the danger she’d been in while he’d been fixated on putting her brother behind bars. He’d made their lives exponentially harder.
He must have said something to that effect out loud, because she gave a muffled protest against his lips. “Not true. I feel safer every time you’re in the room.”
“I’ve been trying to put your brother in jail,” he reminded ruefully.
“It’s not your fault,” she said quickly. “None of this is your fault. Or Aaron’s fault. This is entirely on me.”
He didn’t agree, but it suddenly no longer mattered. What did matter was affirming how she felt about him. Raising his head, he gazed deeply into her eyes. “Do you still love me?”
“I never stopped!” A sob tore out of her.
“The last thing I ever wanted was for us to break up. If that makes me sound pitiful and desperate, then that’s what I am.
I’m pitifully and desperately in love with you despite how impossible our circumstances are.
I—what are you doing?” she demanded breathlessly as he took a knee in front of her.
“What does it look like?” More dampness trickled down his cheeks. “You own my heart, Aurora, so if you really mean what you’re saying…”
“I do.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth as he drew a C-shaped piece of silver from his pocket and bent it into the shape of a ring.
“Then wear this for me.” He reached for her left hand. Since he hadn’t planned any of this in advance, he was improvising.
“What is it?” She didn’t resist when he slid the twist of metal onto her ring finger.
“A promise ring,” he declared boldly. It felt too soon for a full-blown marriage proposal, but he was ready to take an in-between step.
He hoped she was, too. “Made from the clip of a grenade that saved my life during one of my deployments overseas. I’ll replace it with a diamond and a real proposal when you’re ready. ”
“Oh, A.J.,” Aurora breathed, cupping his face between her hands. “It’s perfect. I’m honored to wear something that means so much to you.”
“I’m glad you feel that way.” It also gave him a lot to pray about in the coming days.
“I do.” The adoring look she gave him took his breath away. “So much that my current assignment with Diamondback may be my last.”
“You would do that?” For me? He stood, wrapping her in his arms again.
“In a heartbeat,” she confessed. “I want to be with you, and it’s unrealistic to expect you to keep moving to keep dating me.”
There was only one proper response to a declaration like that. He nipped tenderly at her lips, drinking her in slowly, savoring the wonder of what was happening between them.
“Going ring shopping with a jewelry expert will be a whole new brand of fun,” he joked.
The way she smiled against his lips filled the emptiest, loneliest parts of him. He never wanted the moment to end, but the phone buzzing in his back pocket had other ideas. He tried to ignore it, but it kept buzzing.
Aurora leaned back in his arms. “You need to get that.” It wasn’t a suggestion. She understood the seriousness of what they did for a living.
He reluctantly fished out his phone and glanced at the caller ID. It was Aaron calling. He quickly lifted it to his ear. “What’s up?”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Her brother couldn’t have sounded more contrite. “But there’s been another robbery.”