Under the Boardwalk

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ari rode with Quinn back to his house, but when he’d started to get out of the truck, she reminded him that he had to meet with Damon early in the morning. A not-so-subtle hint that she needed to be alone. But now her thoughts were muddled and sleep didn’t come easily.

Quinn cared about her. Well, she cared about him, too, but that didn’t mean she could admit it out loud. The fact that he’d brought her to Zoe, risking an entire case, his career, and heaven knew what else spoke to a depth of feeling that scared her. She had a life in Vermont. As staid as it was, as boring as she realized it had become, she had friends, a tenured job, and stability.

What did she have here? A family that she didn’t understand, parents and a twin who didn’t trust her with the most basic information because she’d held herself above them. A monkey who was probably an illegal member of the clan, and a foster child she adored but who’d flip out if the monkey had to go. And a man who was caring and more understanding than she deserved.

Tired of tossing and turning, she rose at dawn and made her way to the small room Quinn used as an office, determined to focus on the one thing she could control. She turned on his computer and started to do some research on New Jersey laws and the fate of poor Spank.

• • •

Fresh from his meeting with Damon, Quinn was in a foul mood. Damon’s trip had been delayed a few hours and Quinn was preoccupied, unable to let go of the colossal mistake he’d made by bringing Ari to her twin. Instead of reassuring her about her place in her family, the reunion had left her feeling more like an outsider than ever. As a result, she was pushing him away, too. He felt certain that in Ari’s mind, by distancing herself, she was making her departure not only inevitable but easier.

He shook his head and decided to check out the action. He strode into the bar and saw Connor and Maria huddled in the corner, whispering and looking awfully cozy for two people who’d made sparring an art form. Obviously Connor was making progress with Maria, her kid proving not to be as much of a barrier as he would have thought. Watching them only served to remind Quinn again of his screwup with Ari and reinforce all that was lacking in his life.

He needed to get away and hang out with someone he understood. An hour later, he found himself at Elena and Nicholas’s house. In hand, he had a copy of the letter of recommendation he’d filed with the Division of Youth and Family Services supporting their foster-care application as well as the request to apply for the fost-adopt program. But his real motive was the desire to hang out with Sam and remember what his life was like.

The construction had finished for the day and so the house was quiet, but when Uncle John let Quinn into the house, Quinn narrowed his gaze, unable to believe what he saw.

Spank sat in a cage. She was undressed, which was normal on any other monkey but strange for Spank, who typically favored frilly dresses and fancy bibs. One hairy arm hung limp at her side and her head was tilted at an odd angle. One word to describe the monkey was “pathetic.”

Quinn stepped into the family room so he could get a better view of the sign in front of the cage:

We Don’t Feed The Animal. Unless they’re all natural ingredients, which are the same ingredients we use in our products. Unless you want to end up deformed like the poor monkey we rescued from a cosmetics testing lab, pamper your face and body at the Costas Spa.

Sincerely, The Management

Quinn rolled his eyes. This was the Costas family. He could definitely believe what he saw. He just had to keep his promise to Ari and put an end to the cons before Sam’s placement was jeopardized.

He glanced around, but everyone had disappeared, including Uncle John. Quinn headed for the cage, but Sam’s bubbly voice stopped him.

“Wait!” Sam said. “Don’t you want to see her newest trick first?” She pointed to a change can he hadn’t noticed before, which sat on a table beside the cage. A small sign said, HELP ELIMINATE ANIMAL TESTING. DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at the sight. “This is ridiculous.”

“No, it’s really cool! Watch.” Sam dropped a few quarters into the box.

As the coins fell, making consecutive clanking sounds, Spank smiled her infamous big grin.

Then Sam pulled a dollar bill from her jeans pocket and waved it in front of the monkey. Next Sam folded the bill and placed it into the can’s donation slot.

Spank blew her a huge raspberry kiss.

“Ready for the best part?” Sam asked. She placed a single penny into the money holder. One solitary clink echoed in the room.

In return for the paltry sound, Spank turned around and mooned her, banging on her own backside like a juvenile delinquent looking for a laugh.

“Elena!” Quinn yelled at the top of his lungs. “Nicholas! You get out here now!” he bellowed.

“Geez, Quinn, what’s your problem?” Sam asked.

“Is this normal to you?” He pointed to the monkey, who grinned, then waved with her good arm.

Sam giggled.

Quinn didn’t find the situation funny.

Elena finally swept into the room wearing a kimono. “Do you like my outfit?” she asked, twirling around to give him a complete view.

“That depends. Are you opening a geisha house or a day spa?”

“Very funny,” she said as she pinched his cheek. “Now, what did you need to see me about?”

“That.” He jerked one thumb over his shoulder, refusing to look back at Spank and her antics.

“Oh, isn’t she cute? Except for the pickpocket incident, she trains well.” Her voice was infused with pride.

“Adorable.” Quinn didn’t want to ask who would be the recipient of the monkey’s daily take.

“I fully expect she’ll collect a fair share of donations as well as help sell our products. Did I tell you I finally gave in and hired someone to produce for us?”

He shook his head, ready to congratulate her on her good sense, then reminded himself not to get distracted. He had to make them see reason when it came to scams and to Spank.

“A family meeting is in order,” Quinn told Elena. He fully intended to read the family the riot act. Much as he’d like to do it now, he knew it would be more effective coming from Quinn the cop. That meant a slight delay.

“No need,” Elena said, waving her hand and dismissing his idea. “We’re following the rules for Sam. Nicholas and I have been to one class and have another tonight. We filled out the forms and that cute little minivan came to visit.”

“The DYFS Recruitment Mobile?” he asked of the vehicle that served as an mobile office for the Division of Youth and Family Services.

Elena nodded.

“And where was the monkey at the time?” he asked through clenched teeth, afraid he’d see Sam’s last chance at adoption disappear.

“Across the street with my sister like I promised. It’s just that we needed to borrow her for some work today. And Sam missed her.”

The young girl, Quinn noticed, sat playing with Spank through her cage doors.

He shook his head. Why hadn’t he realized how strong-willed and difficult these people were? And why did he like them so much despite it all? “Okay, this is how things are going to be,” he said, intending to lay down the law and reinforce it when his undercover work was over.

Elena blinked but remained silent.

Quinn took that as a good sign. “The monkey goes back to your sister’s and stays there.” At least until he had time to figure out the laws and what to do with her. “And the cons and scams have to stop. Now. You will operate this spa legitimately. Understood?”

“What fun is that?” Nicholas asked, joining them in the living room.

“He’s kidding,” Sam told Quinn, trying to reassure him.

It didn’t work. “And how would you know that?” Quinn asked her.

Sam clasped her hands behind her back and lowered her eyes, averting her gaze from Quinn’s, always a sign she’d been in trouble.

A sinking feeling settled low in his stomach. “What’d she do now?” Quinn asked, looking from Sam to Elena and then to Nicholas.

All three remained stubbornly silent.

“Apparently Sam stole someone’s lunch money,” Ari said, her voice taking Quinn by surprise.

Quinn hadn’t heard her come in, but he couldn’t deny the leap of joy his heart took on seeing her.

“Hey, I gave it back!” Sam said, calling his attention back to the situation at hand.

“That isn’t the point and you know it,” Elena said, shaking her finger at the teen.

Nicholas stepped up to face Quinn. “You do not need to worry. I gave her a lecture on honesty and values,” he said, putting an arm around Sam’s shoulders. “And you can be sure that the next incident will result in punishment.”

Ari cleared her throat while Quinn rolled his eyes. Did nobody but the two of them see the obvious? Quinn said, “Then I suggest you all start with setting the right example. How the hell do you expect Sam to straighten out if you don’t?”

Nicholas and Elena hung their heads low. “You’re right,” they said together.

“He is?” Ari asked, sounding stunned that they’d caved so easily.

So was he.

“It’s true,” Sam said as she yanked on Quinn’s sleeve. “Nicholas said if I stole again he’d lock me in the monkey’s cage.” Then she turned to Ari. “I’m so glad to see you!” Despite the fact that Ari had just ratted Sam out to Quinn, the teen ran to hug Ari tight.

Quinn wanted to pull Ari into his arms, too, but he could see from her posture and taut expression that not much had changed. Being alone had merely let her pull further away.

“I’m glad to see you, too, Squirt. I needed to talk to you all, but I didn’t realize you had company.” Ari glanced at Quinn through lowered lashes, her cool tone all but telling him that unlike the rest of the family, she resented his presence.

Though Quinn hurt looking at her, there was nothing he could do to help her. She had ghosts in this house that she needed to come to terms with on her own. In the meantime he had a job to do and couldn’t afford any distractions. Even if the biggest distraction was the ache in his gut that would follow him no matter where he went.

“I’ll call to set up a meeting,” he told Elena and Nicholas. “I want the whole family here for a talk. Do you understand?”

They nodded. “We will be here,” Nicholas promised. “All of us.”

Sam clapped her hands. “Cool! We can have a party!”

Quinn didn’t bother correcting her. Instead he shot one quick glance at Ari, who was ignoring him, before he strode out the door.

Ari watched Quinn go and her heart squeezed tight in her chest, but she couldn’t call him back. She’d stood in the doorway in silence, listening to him lecture her family on their conning ways, watching as they accepted his words and advice without question. The same words and advice she’d been trying to give them for years, to no avail.

Then there was Sam. Ari didn’t begrudge Sam a home. She adored the young girl and wanted to be her big sister. It was the situation Ari couldn’t reconcile. For Sam, Ari’s parents were willing to turn their beliefs and their lives upside down and change their ways. Yet Ari had had to leave town to get away from the eccentricity and the cons.

All of which led Ari to wonder why she was always the odd man out in her family. Why two newcomers could extract promises from her family that she couldn’t.

“So, Ari, what did you want to talk about?” Sam asked. She glanced at Ari with huge, trusting eyes.

Ari suddenly wished she’d asked Quinn to stay as backup. “Let’s all sit down,” she said, and picked a solitary club chair while her mother and father chose the couch. Sam sat Indian style on the floor beside Spank’s cage.

“Here’s the story. I did some research on the Internet,” Ari said.

“About?” her father asked.

“About Spank. Monkeys in particular.” She sighed. “Look, in New Jersey, they can’t be kept as pets.”

“She’s not a pet, she’s a-”

“Member of the family,” Sam said, her voice rising. “Like me.”

Ari looked to her mother for help and Elena rose, grabbing Sam’s hand. “We got Spank before we brought you into our home. We didn’t look into the legalities. But now we have to.” She squeezed the young girl tighter. “Go on, Ari.”

Ari drew a deep breath and dug through her purse, pulling out the papers she’d printed early this morning. “Well, I’m not a lawyer, but from what I gather, Spank is classified as a potentially dangerous species under the law.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Nicholas said. “Look at her. Does she look dangerous to you?” He jingled the change can and the monkey blew him a kiss.

Ari sighed. “All I know is that we have to deal with reality. And there are criteria for owning a monkey.” She scanned the pages in front of her. “They include things like extensive education on the breed, housing facilities far from public access, and the worst thing is that the law specifically states wild animals shall not be kept as pets. It goes on, but essentially Spank’s not a legal alien,” she said in a pathetic attempt at humor.

Sam released the lock on the cage and the monkey dove into her lap. “She can’t go away.”

Ari glanced heavenward. She taught college-age kids, not thirteen-year-olds, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with Sam. Except from the heart. “Look, I’m fond of Spank, too. I don’t want to send her away anymore than you do. But isn’t it better if we place her somewhere she’ll be safe and happy before she gets taken away from us and then it’s out of our control?”

In response, Sam ran from the room and a door slammed in her wake.

Ari glanced at her parents, feeling helpless and sad. “I’m sorry.”

“For being smart enough to do what we should have done from the beginning?” Her father sat down on the arm of her chair.

“You should go after her,” Ari said to her mother.

“You’re a good girl.” Elena gave Ari a kiss on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Her mother took off to find Sam.

Her father put an arm around Ari’s shoulders. “You always were the levelheaded one in the family.”

She shook her head, suddenly hating the differences between them for very new reasons. “Is that why I never fit in?” she asked, now wanting to feel more like a member of the family than an outsider.

“You are one of us. You always fit in.” He grasped her by both shoulders, kissing her on each cheek. “You just never wanted to.”

Tears filled her eyes as she was forced to acknowledge the truth in his words. She didn’t understand how or why she’d let things get so out of hand, how she’d let herself drift so far from the family she loved. It wasn’t even worth discussing why they’d never told her about Zoe’s career. Her sister’s explanation made sense now.

“Don’t worry. Samantha will come around,” her father said, misunderstanding the source of her tears.

Ari forced a smile. After all, how could she expect more when she’d kept herself so far away?

She wiped her eyes and smiled at her father. “I hope so,” she said about Sam. But from the desperate look in the girl’s eyes, Ari wasn’t so sure.

“I think Zoe and Sam will get along splendidly, don’t you think?”

Ari met her father’s gaze. “Yes, yes I do.” She swallowed hard. “She’ll be home soon, Dad. I can feel it.” She hugged her father tight.

“I hope you’re right. The one consolation is that I’m sure she knows how to handle herself,” he murmured. “In the meantime, let’s go bring Spank and her things to your Aunt Dee, okay?” he asked.

Recognizing the change of subject as necessary, she nodded. “Afterwards, I have some ideas about who can take Spank, and I think everyone will be pleased.”

Nicholas beamed. “You’re the light of my life, Ari. Don’t you ever forget it.”

But obviously she had forgotten that, along with who she was deep in her heart. Her throat hurt from holding back tears as she realized that in doing so, she had no idea who and what she now wanted to be.

• • •

Connor knew he was late as he strode into the diner he and Quinn had chosen for a quick meeting. He dumped his duffel bag on the floor beneath the table. “Hey,” he said to Quinn, sliding into the booth across from him.

Quinn grumbled but didn’t glance up.

With a shrug, Connor turned his attention to the menu, studying his choices, whistling while he tried to choose between a burger and a cheeseburger.

“Something’s wrong with this picture,” Quinn said, speaking at last, a sour tone to his voice.

Connor glanced over the top of his menu. “What the hell’s bugging you?”

“Your whistling is annoying the shit out of me,” Quinn muttered.

“Like I care,” Connor said, rolling his eyes at his friend’s attitude, hoping to push him into revealing what was really bothering him.

But Quinn didn’t react, merely leaned back in his seat and groaned.

With the case close to being wrapped up, he would normally be intense, but this don’t-mess-with-me tone and his fierce expression were over the top, even for him. Connor studied his best friend and an idea finally dawned, making him burst out laughing. “Oh, I get it. You haven’t gotten laid lately. That being the case, I can see why you’d be in a foul mood.”

Quinn narrowed his gaze. “When I get laid and with whom is none of your goddamn business. Though by that stupid whistle and ridiculous grin, you’ve obviously been getting enough for both of us.”

Connor shook his head, chuckling. “Last I heard, two people needed alone time to get any action.” He wiped his napkin over the tabletop, sliding the crumbs to an out-of-the-way corner. “Maria and I have been a threesome since this whole thing started.”

Not only hadn’t he gotten lucky with Maria, but as much as he wanted her, he was content to move at her speed. Which shocked the hell out of Connor.

Quinn signaled for a waitress and ordered a black coffee. Connor asked for the same.

“Let me get this straight,” Quinn said when the waitress had gone. “McDonald’s, carnivals, and hanging out in front of the television with a kid, and you aren’t spooked?” Quinn stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Connor merely shrugged. Maybe he’d found his mind instead. “It’s better than just having myself for company. And it’s a damn sight better than walking around sulking like you are,” he said. Seeing as he hadn’t had the urge to bail on Maria or her kid in the days since their first date, Connor considered it progress.

The waitress stopped by to pour their coffee and take their orders.

“Is Ari giving you trouble?” Connor asked when she’d left.

“You could say that,” Quinn replied, staring into his cup. Though Connor had asked a valid question, he wasn’t going to get an accurate answer. “Or you could say I’m giving trouble to myself.” But Quinn wasn’t about to mention his disastrous trip with Ari to the safe house. Not even to his best friend.

“Have you ever considered giving up undercover work?” Quinn asked, opting for a subject change guaranteed to take Connor’s mind off women. A subject that Quinn had been mulling in the back of his mind for some time now, but one he hadn’t been ready to express out loud.

He expected Connor to look shocked, but instead he received silence that only seemed to grow.

Finally Connor nodded slowly. “Sometimes I lie in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to wake up and not have to run through my cover and the lies that keep me alive,” he admitted.

“Yeah,” Quinn agreed. “A nice transfer to Detective Division might work.”

“Mmm,” Connor said.

They mulled over their thoughts in private. Both Quinn and Connor had been undercover since graduation from the Academy. Other than each other, the two men had no family. Too often they were so deep undercover, their real lives were barely recognizable. The FBI had had no trouble putting them on special assignment for the Bureau. They’d already done the groundwork to establish their cover within Damon’s operation. And thank God it was almost over, which meant Quinn could begin to focus on the future.

Right now he knew Ari’s crazy family had served as the catalyst for facing the thoughts he’d buried for so long. He’d never had a family, and never thought he’d want to. But watching Sam settle in so easily, and seeing how even he could enjoy the normal type of things he’d missed out on growing up, showed him that maybe he was ready to give it a try.

Quinn missed having a life. But he also wondered what kind of life awaited him if he gave up undercover work. And what kind of role the woman he loved would play in that life, when odds were she wouldn’t be around to reap the benefits of his decision.