Under the Boardwalk

CHAPTER THREE

Quinn had agreed to meet his partner at a Dunkin’ Donuts an hour outside of Ocean Isle. Connor Brennan took a bite of a donut and chased it down with a swig of coffee before wiping the sugar off his mouth with the back of his hand.

Watching Connor chow down on donuts, Quinn groaned. “You do realize you’re reinforcing a bad cliché about cops?”

Connor balled the napkin he hadn’t used and tossed it into the trash, then shrugged. “Who cares? As long as my stomach’s happy, I’m happy.”

Quinn leaned back against the sticky seat and laughed. “You always did make your stomach a priority.” He’d met Connor when they were seventeen, two unwanted boys sharing their last foster home.

“And you were always willing to help me.”

Connor, with Quinn as lookout, had stolen food, not for himself and Quinn, but for the younger kids in the house. Quinn, Connor, and a revolving door of other kids had all lived under strict and irrational rules. While watching the clock tick down toward their eighteenth birthdays and freedom, the two older boys had done what they could for the younger ones before getting out.

“We make a damn good team. Then and now.” Connor grinned, flashing the killer smile women loved and the one that covered all the pain he didn’t want the world to see.

Quinn agreed. The other man was the brother Quinn never had.

“So you had a close call today, huh?” Connor asked.

Just thinking about Ari being shot at made Quinn break into a sweat. He nodded. “The twins looked enough alike to nearly give me a heart attack. And apparently someone else thought they’d seen Zoe, too.”

Connor muttered a curse. “Well, we’d better make sure Zoe doesn’t find out about her twin’s arrival and do something to complicate this mess even more.”

“Agreed.” Quinn wrapped his hands around the warm coffee cup. “So what’d you find at the pier?”

Connor’s dark gaze settled on Quinn. “Right after your call, I sent a team to the area of the shooting. They came up empty. The wind and sand blew away any evidence.”

“Damn.” Quinn curled his hand around a plastic fork and twirled it in his palms. “Then we just assume it was one of Damon’s men who thought they saw Zoe and took a shot.”

“But once he saw you tackling her, he probably realized something was off and ran.”

Quinn nodded. “Damon believed I followed orders and killed Zoe. He still believes it.”

Which was why Ari’s presence in town was so dangerous to her and to the investigation. “I assume you covered your ass with Damon today?” Connor asked.

Quinn nodded. “First thing I did after driving Ari home was to let Damon know Zoe’s twin paid her family a visit-and left again. So if someone who answers to Damon made the same mistake I did and thinks Zoe’s alive, Damon will correct them.”

Connor let out a slow whistle. “The good professor nearly tossed two years’ worth of undercover work down the drain.” He shook his head. “So tell me,” he said, the laughter in his voice signaling a fast change of subject, “is Ari as sweet looking as her sister?”

“She’s sweeter.” The words slipped out before Quinn could censor them.

“In what way? Sweet ass? Sweet cheeks?”

“Sweet Lord,” Quinn said, rolling his eyes. He hated hearing Ariana Costas reduced to a piece of eye candy, but damned if he’d give Connor the ammunition to rib him for the duration of this case. “She’s exactly like Zoe,” he lied.

Connor’s fathomless stare told Quinn he didn’t believe him for a second.

“And I made her swear she’d go home.”

“Think she’ll listen?” Connor asked.

Quinn nodded. “Without a doubt. She didn’t strike me as headstrong like Zoe.” Instead she was softer and more vulnerable.

And the fact that Zoe had faked her death, no matter how noble the reason, would hurt Ari. Normally Quinn lied without blinking, but he hadn’t been able to forget the pain in Ari’s eyes or the hope he’d seen when he’d admitted her sister was alive. He didn’t want to be around when Ari found out the disappearance was a deliberate hoax. Ari would probably want to kill her sister all over again, unlike the rest of her eccentric family, who’d probably applaud the charade.

Zoe had once regaled him with stories and just the thought of their strange, large family made Quinn, the poster child for a dysfunctional childhood and solitary living, break out in hives.

He shuddered and, after a quick glance at his watch, turned his attention back to Connor. “So what’s happening on your end?”

“Just some basic bartending. Nothing out of the ordinary. Unless you count one pain-in-the-ass waitress,” Connor muttered.

“Is Maria still busting your balls?”

“No woman busts them unless I let her.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Did I hit a soft spot? For a woman?” he asked in disbelief.

“You mention Maria, I push harder on the subject of how Ariana Costas got to you, my friend. The choice is yours.” His partner leaned across the table, a menacing look crossing his face.

Too bad for Connor, that expression only worked on the criminals and coworkers who didn’t know him as well as Quinn. Quinn rubbed his hands together in anticipation of ribbing Connor further. Until his friend’s words sank in. Under threat of having his sudden, unexpected feelings for Ari uncovered and dissected, Quinn would have to back off.

“I’ve gotta go.” He stood and pulled his keys from his jacket pocket.

“Glad we understand each other,” Connor said, his shoulders more relaxed now that Maria’s name was out of the discussion.

Quinn shook his head and stifled a laugh. He consoled himself with the notion that by tomorrow, Maria would still be around making Connor squirm, while for Quinn, Ari would be a distant memory.

• • •

The next night, Connor stood behind the bar at Damon’s mixing cocktails. The drink, a Cosmo in a brandy snifter with extra ice, ordered by a man in a large black cowboy hat, had him preoccupied until a sixth sense prickled the back of his neck.

Not one to ignore his gut, since it had kept him alive when he was a kid and again on the force, he raised his gaze. Taking in the sight of the woman who had to be Zoe’s twin, Connor let out a slow whistle. Quinn was going to be pissed as hell, Connor thought.

He served the cowboy with the New York accent his drink along with a glass of ice water, no lemon, for the man’s wife, before turning his attention to Ariana. She wore tight-fitting black leather pants and a bright red sweater that would be conservative if not for the low-cut V-neck that showed off her ample cleavage and a hint of white lace.

Instead of Zoe’s jet black hair, hers had an auburn tint, and where her sister’s flowed down her back, Ariana’s brushed her shoulders in a chic cut that emphasized her olive skin and intense green eyes.

He could see why his best friend had fallen for her at a glance. Even if Quinn wasn’t ready to admit it just yet. “What can I get you?” Connor asked, making a show of wiping down a bar glass as he spoke.

“Gray Goose on the rocks with a lime.” She pursed her lips together in thought. “And information.”

Because Connor was a trained professional, he caught the nearly imperceptible tremor in her voice. Still, he got to work on her request and mulled over her statement. Though he didn’t know why she was here, he expected her to get the lay of the land and ask subtle questions. The kind he’d have no trouble accommodating. He needed to get a solid handle on her, since Quinn had already proven himself less than able to predict this woman’s actions, Connor thought, holding back a chuckle.

“So how long have you been working here?” she asked.

“About a year and a half. Why?” He slid the drink across the bar on a cocktail napkin.

She shrugged. “Because my sister used to serve drinks here. I’m looking for people who saw her before she disappeared.”

So much for anticipating her behavior. The only expected thing so far had been her quivering voice. But despite her nerves, she’d gone right for the killer question.

He kept his tone casual as he asked, “What’s your sister’s name? There’s plenty of babes who work here and move on.”

“But only one who disappeared, I assume.”

Before Connor could reply, Maria sauntered over and placed her tray down on the counter. Connor didn’t need a distraction, and Maria, with those eyes that saw too much and who got to him in a way no woman ever had, diverted his attention too easily. She’d also been ducking his come-ons in a way he wasn’t used to.

“Why don’t I refresh your memory,” Ariana said. “My sister’s name is Zoe. That’s a pretty unusual name and she’s my twin. Another reason I’d think you’d remember her,” Ariana said, forcing Quinn to tear his gaze from Maria.

Maria, meanwhile, glanced back and forth between Connor and Ariana and a scowl crossed her luscious lips. Lips he fantasized about in his sleep, drifting across his body and giving him immense pleasure.

Her displeased expression was the first indication Connor had ever had that Maria reciprocated his interest. Suddenly stringing Ariana along took on greater appeal, and he bit back a grin.

He leaned across the bar, closer to Zoe’s twin. “Is your sister a beautiful redhead like you?” he asked in a deliberately husky voice.

“Okay, assuming my face isn’t ringing any bells, no, she doesn’t have red hair,” Ariana said, her exasperation obvious. “She has long black hair. At least she did the last time I saw her.”

Was it Connor’s imagination or had a fleeting frown crossed her face?

He had no time to think further because she continued speaking. “But as I said, we’re twins, so thank you for the compliment.” She fluttered heavily made-up lashes and shot him a wide smile, no evidence of sadness at all. He wasn’t sure which was the act and which was forced, nor did he care to figure her out. He just needed to keep her in the dark.

Without warning, Maria lifted her tray and smashed it down on the counter, clearing her throat at the same time. “Some of us are here to work, not pick up women. Think you can take my order sometime today?” Maria asked.

Ariana jumped, while Connor bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He’d busted his ass to get through Maria’s reserve, and all it took was another woman’s interest to light a fire beneath her. Hot damn.

He let his gaze slide provocatively over Maria’s tight black miniskirt and tight white stretch tee. “Green’s an awfully pretty color on you, sweetstuff. I’ll be with you in a second.”

He turned to Ariana, though he watched Maria from the corner of his eye. A red flush stained her cheeks, making her hotter and sexier than usual. Damned if he didn’t want to get in on all that pent-up passion.

But first he had business to deal with. “I remember her now. Your sister hasn’t been around here in awhile,” he said to Ariana, finally acknowledging the truth. Maybe Ari would accept surface answers, but Connor doubted it. “The police stopped by asking questions, but from what I heard, they came up empty, too.” He tilted his head toward her. “My condolences though.”

Her eyes glazed but to her credit, she recovered with a swing of her shiny hair. “None necessary. Zoe’ll come home soon.” Rising from her seat, she slid twenty dollars across the wood countertop, waited for him to make change, then left him a nice tip.

“Where are you off to?” he asked.

She shrugged, drink in hand. “Maybe I’ll check out the slots.”

Bullshit, Connor thought, but he just didn’t know exactly what Ariana Costas had in mind. And that made him nervous.

“If you hear anything about my sister, I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a call.” Her gaze held his a few seconds too long, and he saw the desperation in her eyes.

He’d been in this business long enough not to fall into the trap of guilt. He only hoped his buddy Quinn could hold out, too.

“Bye,” she said with a wave.

“See ya.” He glanced down. Only then did he notice she’d left a card with her handwritten phone number on it along with the gratuity. He pocketed the paper in his back jeans pocket.

Across from him, Maria seethed with jealousy, and Connor wondered how to best use this unexpected show of emotion to his advantage.

With full appreciation of what fate had shown him, he turned his attention to Maria. “I’m all yours, sweetstuff. What can I do for you?”

Quinn stretched out at a booth in the lounge across from the baccarat tables, Damon beside him. His boss liked to monitor the big gamblers, and this view gave him ample opportunity. Damon’s woman of the week, this time a busty blonde, hung on to every word he said, but all the while Damon surveyed his domain. And Quinn watched Damon. It was a scene Quinn had repeated nightly since being let into the casino owner’s inner circle.

He hoped it wouldn’t last much longer. Quinn was sick of living out of a hotel room. He missed his small house on the beach and the freedom to do what he wanted, when he wanted, without people looking over his shoulder. Most of all, he missed Dozer, his mixed breed who was currently residing with Al Wolf, director of the youth center. He hoped Dozer was behaving himself and not slobbering all over the kids, or else Wolf would… Holy shit.

Quinn’s thoughts trailed off as the woman who’d promised him she’d return to Vermont strode into the room. Even with some outward changes, Quinn would recognize her in a heartbeat. She made her way into the casino, hips swaying, newly cut hair bouncing against her shoulders, and those green eyes darting around the room, something he recognized as pure nerves showing through.

Since tackling the professor in her dark suit two days ago, he’d bet she wasn’t used to her new look or sexy clothing. Neither was he. Under any other circumstances, he’d enjoy the view, but not tonight. He was furious, and when her gaze met his and remained, he refused to look away, forcing her to hold his stare or blink first.

She held her own.

She’d promised to get her ass on a plane. She hadn’t. By walking in here, she’d shown she wasn’t scared of the repercussions. She should be, Quinn thought as he rose from his seat.

But before he could intercept Ari and prevent Damon from seeing Zoe’s twin, Damon put a hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “Is that the woman you were talking about?” Damon nodded toward Ari.

“That’s her,” Quinn muttered.

As if Damon’s date sensed competition, she hung on more tightly to his arm.

The fact comforted Quinn, while he tried to figure out what to do about this newest complication. “I thought she was leaving, but don’t worry. I’ll get rid of her.”

“Let’s see what she wants first,” Damon suggested.

Quinn watched through gritted teeth as Ari strode up the three steps to the bar and greeted them with a wide smile. Thank God Damon preferred blondes, Quinn thought.

“Hi.” Her gaze encompassed both men and Damon’s date.

“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked, to hell with preliminary niceties.

She shrugged but didn’t flinch at his angry tone. “I thought I’d check out where my sister works.” She motioned around the room with one elegant sweep.

“Worked,” Quinn reminded her. “You wanted to see where your sister worked.”

She lowered her gaze, the confidence in her demeanor not as strong now. “I’m just not used to thinking of Zoe in the past tense.” She drew a deep breath. “But you’re right. I wanted to see where my sister worked.” When she looked up, her grin was nowhere to be found.

A punch in the gut would have been a gentler way of hurting her, Quinn thought. But if she trusted him at all, which she had no reason to do, she’d play this game through. In the end, she would see her sister again.

“So now you’ve seen. Don’t you have a plane to catch?”

Damon stepped forward. “Tsk, tsk, Quinn. That’s no way to speak to a beautiful lady.”

Damon’s arm candy started to whine, but Damon cut her off by pulling cash out of his pocket. “Go play,” he ordered his companion.

The blonde whose name Quinn hadn’t bothered to learn treated Damon to a kiss on the cheek and sashayed off.

Ari raised an eyebrow Quinn’s way. “I’d appreciate an introduction to your friend.” Her sultry gaze settled on Damon.

Unlike when she’d convincingly lied to Quinn, now he detected traces of nervous energy as Ari made a show of fingering her purse and tapping her foot.

She was scared. Of Damon, he hoped, because that would mean the professor did indeed have the brains Zoe credited her with. And then Quinn could count on her to behave, at least while she was in the casino.

“Yes,” Damon said from beside him. “I believe introductions are in order.” He oozed charm. Slimy, not-to-be-trusted charm.

“Ariana Costas, I’d like you to meet Alec Damon. Mr. Damon owns this casino, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years.” Or in Vermont. “Damon, this is Zoe Costas’s twin,” Quinn said pointedly.

Damon smiled. “I thought I noticed the resemblance. Nice to meet you, Ariana.”

“Same here.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve heard so much about you, Mr. Damon. Not from my sister, since we… we hadn’t been in touch in awhile, but my mother talks about you often.”

“Only good things, I hope?”

She nodded. “That’s another reason I came by. I wanted to meet you. To thank you in person for lending my mother money when she was in need.” Ari held out her hand and Damon took it.

“My pleasure.” He released his grasp, his astute gaze raking over Ariana’s body. “Your mother was a hard worker and a very talented dancer.” He inclined his head. “Do you share her ability?”

She laughed. A full-blown, light and airy sound. Quinn’s groin immediately tightened. Damn the woman, anyway.

“No. I’m sorry to say I have two left feet.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” His gaze traveled the length of her body, beginning with her long legs and remaining on her cleavage before finally landing on her face.

She did her best not to squirm, but failed. Still she faced Damon head on. “Thank you again for helping my family. And it was nice meeting you,” Ari said, all but ignoring Quinn.

“The feeling’s mutual. And…” Damon paused. “I’m sorry about your sister. Zoe was beautiful inside and out. She worked hard and we at Damon’s valued her.”

Ari tipped her head. “That means so much.”

“Quinn, why don’t you show Ms. Costas around the casino.” The suggestion was nothing short of an order.

Despite Damon’s civil veneer, Quinn didn’t want her staying around unchaperoned. Quinn would follow his order with pleasure. Not just to find out what the hell was behind Ari’s agenda, but to get closer to the sultry beauty for reasons he didn’t want to name.

Putting his arm around her waist, he led her down the stairs and away from Damon. She was smaller than she looked, and her waist fit snugly against his body, feeling too good considering he wanted to throttle her.

He left the casino behind, entered the hotel lobby, and steered her directly to the office area and a vacant hallway. He paused only long enough to unlock the door and nudge her in. Entering his private domain, he slammed the door shut behind him and locked them inside.

He turned on the light before folding his arms across his chest and facing Ariana. “Well?”

“Well what?” She batted her eyes and forced the most innocent look she could manage.

It had to be forced considering she must be quaking in her stiletto pumps. “Does this look like Vermont to you?” He gestured around the state-of-the-art office, with its new computer, expensive desk, sophisticated phone system, and both audio and video bugs recording everything that was said.

She shrugged, taking in the sterile environment where he spent many of his days. “Not particularly. My office is a lot more musty and not as bright.”

He closed his eyes and counted to ten. She was baiting him on purpose, and she was more like Zoe than he’d given her credit for. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

“Where’s my sister?” she asked.

“She’s missing. I thought the police told you that.”

“But you-”

“Told you to get on a plane and go home.” Quinn needed this record of their conversation for Damon’s viewing later, but he’d never consider any place in this casino a safe place to talk freely.

His room upstairs was different, since he swept it regularly for bugs. He refused to be watched when he was alone, and Damon knew it. But Quinn was smart enough not to take Ari anywhere near his bed.

Stepping forward, he backed her against the wall, bracing his hands over her head. Ariana sucked in a shallow breath, but her gaze never left his.

He bent his head close. Almost cheek to cheek, he inhaled her fragrant scent and felt the womanly heat emanating from her body. Apparently Ari was on edge, because she trembled and a faint sigh reverberated from her throat. He feathered his lips over the exposed skin on her neck, and that little taste made him hungry for more. Shifting his attention to her mouth, he touched his lips to hers. Their chemistry exploded.

He kissed her and she kissed him back, proving she was as greedy as he for intimate contact. Knowing she wanted him, too, he slipped his hands to her waist, holding her in place against the wall. And when she didn’t fight that move, he slid his thigh between her legs, bracketing her in place. All the while his tongue tangled with hers and he learned the depth of the hidden fieriness she kept inside.

This woman excited him on many levels. She was complex and intelligent, with equal parts spunk, attitude, and vulnerability. It was the vulnerability that had driven her away from her family, and it was a part of what enticed Quinn so much now. He wanted to know her, contradictions and all.

Temptation beckoned. No one would blame him if he tossed her on the desk and acted out the fantasy replaying in his mind since the moment they’d met. Even Damon would merely applaud. But Quinn would blame himself. And she deserved better.

He swirled his tongue inside her mouth one last time, let himself feel her fingers tugging at his hair and in his scalp, before breaking the kiss. His breathing came in shallow gasps. Desire clawed at him, begging him to continue what he’d started, but he lifted his head and looked into her heavy-lidded eyes.

He swallowed hard. “We can’t talk here,” he whispered. “This place is bugged,” he said in a murmur nobody else listening could possibly detect.

“So unless you’re interested in finishing what we started, you don’t belong here.” This time he spoke loud enough for anyone to hear, for the benefit of Damon’s hidden bugs.

She ducked out from under his arms and glared at him with wounded eyes. But he could see from the almost imperceptible nod of her head that she got his message and his act for the camera.

“I don’t answer to you,” she said.

“Maybe you should.”

She bit down on her well-kissed lower lip, pausing in thought. “I think you’ve got a point.”

The hair on the back of his neck prickled in unease. “In what way?”

She leaned against the wall, her pose all the more seductive thanks to that hot kiss and the need still pulsing inside him. “Hire me,” she said.

“Repeat that?”

“I said, hire me. Give me a job here.”

Quinn couldn’t believe she’d ask for something so stupid. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“Because I want to get closer to people who knew my sister.” Her voice softened and her gaze grew moist.

Too bad for her, he couldn’t afford to give in to emotional blackmail. Besides, only a chump wouldn’t figure out that she wanted entry into the casino so she could snoop around. “Sorry, but no.”

She shrugged, which had the effect of lifting her glimmering cleavage for view. He wondered if the skin there tasted as good as her neck and lips just had.

“I’ll just ask Damon, then,” Ari said. “He seems like an agreeable enough guy. He hired my mother and my sister, and he did tell you to show me around. Besides, I think he liked me.”

“Your boobs aren’t big enough for him to like you,” Quinn muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said through clenched teeth. He wasn’t thinking with his head. Not the right head, anyway. Those breasts might not be big enough for Damon, but they made Quinn’s mouth water and his hands tingle with longing. She was a distraction he didn’t need.

He didn’t want her anywhere near the casino, Damon’s operation, or him. Which meant he had a problem, since she’d already proven she’d do as she pleased. But Quinn hated being backed into a wall and he continued to grind his teeth in frustration. “What are you good at?”

“What do you want me to be good at?” she asked him.

He stepped forward, stopping until they were inches apart again. He already knew how well she kissed, how hot she made him, and how perfectly her body fit against his. The woman was playing with a man on fire. “You already told Damon you can’t dance.”

“There’s plenty of other things I’m good at.” Her eyes flashed determined sparks.

“Name one.”

“I already proved I’m a good kisser, but I don’t think that’s what you had in mind.” She cocked her head to one side, as she continued to tease and test his restraint. “I also have decent moves with my hands.” She waved her delicate fingers in front of his face.

Visions of those hands roaming over his body caused an intense burning in his stomach. “Such as?”

“I waited tables in college and I can serve a mean drink.”

“And what about your job, Professor?”

“I already took a leave.” She placed her hands on her hips, as if daring him to argue.

And when her eyes darted from his for a split second, long enough to convince him she wasn’t being completely honest, he wanted to. But since this damned independent woman would do what she wanted, he had no choice except to go along. “Fine. Your shift will be seven to midnight. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night around six. Be ready.”

“I can drive-”

He shook his head. “I plan to keep an eye on you. In fact, expect to have me by your side the entire time.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again.

“Good thinking. Because I’ll be watching you. And that is nonnegotiable.”