Page 23 of Truth & Lies

“Beautiful, he came back foryou. There’s no doubt in my mind. You’re not a woman that anyone would forget. You’re also not a woman that a man like that—a man like me—wouldn’t go after if he thought he had a chance.”

“Aiden, he can’t know your connection to me, it’s impossible. Besides, do you forget that I don’t know who the hell he is?” Then a thought sticks in my mind. “Do you know him?”

His jaw tightens but he doesn't answer. Instead, he takes a deep breath, exhaling with a resigned sigh. "It'll all be alright, Aly," he replies, but I don't miss the fact that Aiden didn't answer my question.God, this whole thing is exhausting.

“Okay.” The word may leave my lips, but I’m not sure I believe it. I’m not sure what the hell I’m thinking right now.

I bring both of my hands up to cup his jaw, smiling when I feel him relax under my touch.

“I missed you, Detective.”

“I missed you too, Aly.”

“Take me home?” I whisper, earning crinkled eyes and a wry grin on his lips.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

From the moment I wake up Saturday morning, I feel strange. It’s like I’m crawling out of my skin and I have no idea why. When Aiden and I made love last night, it was different than it used to be. By bringing our feelings toward each other out into the open, our connection has deepened and grown stronger. That meant our touches were more meaningful, our kisses longer and deeper, the intent not just to get off, but also about enjoying the journey toward release.

It started in our usual feverish fashion. I couldn't get enough of him and he made itveryclear that he’d been thinking about every single thing he wanted to do to me for the past four weeks we’d been apart. After all the phone calls and flirting, the dirty promises and whispered desires, when we stepped inside my apartment, I pounced before the door had even closed. On his last visit, we both knew my head wasn't in the right place even if my heart was, this time it's different.

I dropped to my knees in my hallway and wrapped my mouth around him. He carried me to the shower and returned the favor—twice. It was like we couldn’t get enough and although part of me worried that we were both using the other as a distraction, I completely let myself go and as always, Aiden was there to catch me.

And when we finally fell into my bed, the momentum changed yet again. Aiden was all about me. He was attentive, he took his time, and when he finally buried himself inside me with his eyes locked on mine, I forgot about everything except him and me and what we were doing. The fevered need was sated, so there was no need to rush anymore. Instead, it was slow, languid, and full of meaning. I lost myself to every touch, every kiss, and used my body to say the words I couldn’t say. It was everything I needed and as always, Aiden seemed to realize that and give it to me.

In the light of a new day though, I can’t stop myself from comparing the two men—as unfair as it is. IknowAiden, yet I have absolutely no idea who the hell therealBarrett is.I don’t even know his real god damn name!

Whenever Aiden looks at me, a wave of warmth washes over me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. When Barrett does it, it feels like a thousand lightning bolts are scoring through me, alighting every nerve ending in my body.

It’s like comparing a slow-burning fire to a raging inferno.

I shouldn't even be thinking about Barrett. Everything he said to me was a lie. Every moment I spent with him wasn't real. With Aiden, he's been honest and upfront from the very beginning, and in the last month, he has proven himself in his words and actions.

Aiden has been constant for two years; Barrett was a twenty-four hour mistake.That’swhat I have to remember.That’sthe truth I cling to.

Sunday afternoon, Aiden and I got to Harrison's offices for an update. As soon as we take our seats, the man with graying blond hair and ruggedly handsome looks hands Aiden a folder full of paper. "You might want to start reading, Detective," he says, sending me a sympathetic look.

"What is it? What did you find out?" I ask, fearing the very worst. The key thing out of all of this is protecting my mother because even though Barrett did me wrong, we still don't know what Gavin is up to, and that's what scares me most of all.

“Special Agent Mark Lucas was working a case in Vegas. I spoke with a contact of mine in the FBI, pulled in a few favors, and found out there has been a tri-state undercover operation going on for at least six months so far. It’s focused on the financial dealings surrounding the Sovereign Hotel and Gavin Barnes.”

“What are they looking for?” Aiden asks, looking up from the paperwork in his hands, his posture all business now.

“Fraud, embezzlement, and bribery of city officials at this stage. But the scope isn’t limited to just that. Which is why Special Agent Lucas was trying to infiltrate Barnes’s organization and inner circle,” Harrison replies.

“Oh my God,” I gasp, placing my hand over my mouth and swallowing down the bile creeping up my throat as the realization hits that this is far bigger—and worse—than I could’ve ever imagined. I turn to Aiden, my eyes wide as fear threatens to choke me. “Aiden, my mom . . .”

“Aly, it’ll be okay,” Aiden says, putting his hand on my leg and squeezing gently.

“You don’t know that,” I shriek, standing up and pacing back and forth in the small office.

“Sit down, Alyssa. I promise you, this is a good thing.” I know he’s trying to make me feel better, but the fact that my mother got hitched to a criminal that’s being investigated by the FBI doesn’t have me jumping for joy.

I spin around to face him. “How can you say that? How is thisgood?Mymotherhas just married a man being investigated by the FBI.” My voice jumps to a high-pitched shriek, but all I can think about is my mother losing everything my father left her because of Gavin. “We have to get the marriage annulled,” I state matter-of-factly.

“Aly, you need to stop and take a deep breath. We don’t want to ruin any chance they might have of making an arrest and that could happen if you alert your mother about any of this,” Harrison says.

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