Page 20 of Lies Beneath Secrets

She glances over at it, then back to my cut. “I’ve put my own stuff in it over time.”

“Get a lot of burns?” She doesn’t answer my question; instead, she pretends to ignore me and gives my now-bandaged cut a closer look.

“All done.” She closes the kit and snaps the clasp into place, then bundles up the used supplies in the sink, holding them in one hand.

“Thank you again. For this and for taking care of Gabby.” She nods and tosses the garbage into the small wastebasket on the floor. She’s about to turn and go out the door when I stand. It must have been too fast because it catches her off guard, and she stumbles a little. I reach out and grab her elbow to stabilize her, so she doesn’t fall on her ass.

“You have a small bathroom.” I nod in response and suddenly find it hard to let her arm go. Instead of backing away, I find myself leaning in a little closer.She’s so short and damn, it’s cute as hell. Like I could just pick her right up. Maybe wrap her legs around me. Wait, what? Her round face looks up at mine, and I watch as her throat flexes when she swallows. Shit.

“What’s that smell?”

“What?” She almost sounds offended by the question.

“Your hair. It smells sweet.” I lean a little closer and inhale deep. A light tingle forms at the tips of my fingers and suddenly, along with wrapping her legs around my waist, I want to grip the thick, brown strands of her hair in my hands.

“Apples,”she tells me in a whisper.

“Never thought apples could smell so damn good.” A red tint suddenly spreads across her chest and up to her cheeks. She’s looking everywhere but at me. I should feel bad for forcing the close proximity on her but with the response her body is having, I can’t find it in me to care. In fact, I want to step even closer to her. My eyes wander back down and catch the sight of her nipples hardening under the V-neck tee shirt she’s wearing. I force myself to bite back a groan at the thought of taking one of those into my mouth, biting down just hard enough to get a gasp to fall from her lips. Fuck, them lips. The second those cross my mind, I bring my focus upward again, only to find she’s now looking right at me.

We stand there for a moment, air hanging heavy between us. The flecks of gold in her green eyes burn bright with desire behind them glasses of hers. Then she slightly sucks one side of her bottom lip into her mouth. The action has my hand rising so I can tug on it. Her words stop me before I can.

“I need to get going.” She blurts out and manages to back up a step in the small space. I suddenly realize I’m still holding her elbow and break the connection.

“Yeah.” I clear my throat and give her some space. “Thank you. Again. And again,” I say, realizing I’ve already thanked her. Who knew the scent of fucking apples would turn me into a blundering idiot.

Lauren finds the doorknob and manages to get herself out of the room and close the door behind her. “Fucking her isn’t the plan,” I say, looking down at my jeans. My cock strains to get out. He would probably chase after her if he could. “Christ.” I turn to the sink and splash some cold water on my face, careful not to get it on the bandage she just put in place. “You’re only here to keep an eye on her and find out what she knows.” My mind goes back to the conversation I had with Knox before Gabby and I moved in here.

“You ever wonder how King found Gabe before we did? I know he left the clubhouse before us,” Knox says as I fill out the damn application to the apartment we just toured.

“You think he was maybe tracking him or something?” I put down my full name, thinking I should probably introduce myself as Conner when I meet my neighbors. One in particular.

“Maybe.” Knox leans back in his chair. “Think you should do a little more than just watching that girl too.” I look up from the application.

“What do you mean?”

“Just a feeling I have. Why her apartment? Gabe never struck me as the breaking and entering kind of guy. If he wanted to hide out, he would have done it in one of them businesses, not an apartment. He wasn’t one to put his fate in some stranger’s hands. Let alone put them in danger.” I suppose he does have a point. “I’m not saying you should start fucking the girl.” I look up at him again, this time with a glare. “I mean, if you fuck her, then I can’t.”

“No one will be fucking her,” I tell him sternly. The thought of Knox anywhere near Lauren heats my skin.

“All right, brother, if you say so.”

I stare at myself in the mirror. I’m not Con anymore. Staring back at me isConner.My hair is short, and my face is still smooth from the shave it got this morning. I fucking hate this whole situation.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Lauren

The August air whooshes around the small alley in the back of the diner. I stepped outside to cool myself down after the breakfast rush. I don’t know what it is about a Tuesday morning in this town, but it brings out everyone to eat. Not that I’m complaining. On a good Tuesday, I can make a decent amount of tips. “I thought you were out here,” Sadie says. “Come on, break time is over.”

“I just got out here,” I fake whimper. She shrugs and pulls a pack of cigarettes from her apron.

“I sat someone in your section you’ll thank me for. A hot daddy.” She wiggles her eyebrows. Sadie is one of the five waitresses who work here, a mother of four who has her kids on and off depending on what she’s being charged with. She struggles with keeping herself out of trouble. But if you were to ask her about it, she would say trouble finds her.

“Ew, don’t say daddy. It makes me cringe.” She laughs at my disgusted face and flicks her lighter to spark up her cigarette. The action brings me back to last night and without thinking, I rub at my still sore inner thigh. She wastes no time sucking in the smoke, then blows it away from both of us. She barely gets the first drag out before she’s bringing in another one. “Earth to Lauren,” she sings from above my seat on the plastic milk crate. I hadn’t realized I was still sitting there, watching her.

“Sorry. I must be more tired than I thought,” I say and stand. “Enjoy your break.” With a smile, I open the door and go inside the diner, letting it slam shut behind me. I stop at the sink to wash my hands quickly before grabbing my ordering pad and walking to the dining floor.

The little girl sitting in one of the booths kicks her feet back and forth while coloring on the paper kids’ menu Sadie must have given her. I recognize her right away. Her little blond pigtails sway with her movements, and I notice they’re slightly crooked and a bit messy. Like she may have slept in them. I inwardly smile because I can only assume her dad was the one to fix her hair.

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