I stop a few feet behind them and clear my throat.
Marissa looks at me. “Oh, Jensen, this is, um . . . this is . . .” The guy, Jensen, turns toward me and smiles politely. I can see that his eyes are a startling blue and his skin is tan. And not too tan, either. Or too even. Nothing like what he might get in a tanning bed, which I’m convinced is for pussies. No, his color makes me think he spends a good bit of his time outdoors.
Probably playing polo or some hoity-toity shit like that.
Marissa is still stammering, so I step forward and offer my hand. “Cash Davenport.” It makes sense that since there’s already a Nash Davenport in this “circle” that I be the rebellious brother.
I’m surprised that I don’t trip over the name. In fact, it comes out a little bit too easily. I guess that’s how Cash felt the first time he tried to pass himself off as me.
Marissa falls right in line with my deception. “Yes, you remember Nash Davenport, right? This is his twin brother, Cash. He owns a club across town.”
Jensen extends his hand. “Jensen Strong. I work at the DA’s office. Met your brother once or twice around at some functions, I think. So, a club, huh?” He nods his head appreciatively. “Nice.”
“It pays the bills,” I say simply.
We fall into an easy silence for a few seconds before Jensen speaks again. “Well, I guess I’d better run. I’m actually in court today. An unexpected witness gave me an idea, so I thought I’d come over and check on something during recess.” He nods to me and then turns his full attention to Marissa. “It was great seeing you again. Let me know if I can help with what you’re working on. Prosecution is kinda my thing,” he says charmingly. Marissa smiles and he continues. “Maybe we can do dinner sometime soon. Catch up.”
I’m a guy, so I know what he’s really saying is that he wants to get in her pants as soon as possible. I also know by Marissa’s reaction that she isn’t exactly saying no.
“That sounds great,” she replies. Her smile widens. It’s both flattered and maybe a little interested, which pisses me off. I can’t have her attention divided until I’m done with her. I’m not jealous by any far stretch of the imagination. I couldn’t care less who she sleeps with or who she’s interested in. I just want her to wait for a few days. Until I’m gone. Right now, I need her to focus on me so that I don’t go apeshit while I’m waiting on the go-ahead to tear someone a new ass.
I have no doubt I can give her more than enough to keep her mind and her body busy, but another guy in the picture just complicates things. And I’m dealing with too many complications already. I don’t need bullshit from my biggest source of stress relief, too.
“I’ll call your office, then.”
“Okay. See you later.”
With a nod as he passes me, Jensen leaves the aisle. I wait until he’s around the corner and out of earshot before I speak. “Looks like they’re lining up already.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It was no secret you and ‘Nash’ were an item, right? And it’s probably no secret that he dumped you. I mean, shit like that spreads like wildfire. One secretary finds out and suddenly it’s common knowledge.”
“And you think they’re coming out of the woodwork to console me?” Her laugh is wryly amused. “I don’t think so. I’m sure anyone who knows about it knows I’m far from devastated. I can hardly be crushed when ‘something’ that was never anything is over.”
I eye her skeptically. Could she really have such a . . . a . . . guy-like attitude about it?
“So you didn’t really give a damn about my brother?”
Marissa shrugs. On her face is uncertainty, but I think it’s more that she doesn’t know how to respond.
“It’s not that I want to see him hurt or anything. I’m not a monster. I don’t wish him ill. I guess I’m more . . . ambivalent than anything else. The only emotion I felt over the breakup was wounded pride. Feelings like that go away very quickly. The bottom line is: Cash and I were convenient and useful for each other. That’s pretty much it.”
I can’t help but laugh. I wonder what Cash would say if he knew that the whole time he was with Marissa, he was getting played as much as she was. I suspect there might be some wounded pride on his end, too. But then again, he’s so head over heels for Olivia, he might not give a damn.
“Good God, you’re like all the best parts of a woman without all the annoying parts.”
Her laugh is light. “Um, o-kay. I guess I should thank you?”
“Oh, it was definitely a compliment. It makes me that much more anxious to uncover all your parts.”
I step in closer to her. She doesn’t move away; she stands her ground, which is a huge turn-on for me. I like that she’s willing, openly interested. I like that she doesn’t try to pretend otherwise, like so many women do. It’s boring and childish. And it’s false. Most women want to be talked into it, eased into it, as if they’re being coerced. It soothes their conscience, I guess. God forbid they take the situation by the balls and have fun with it. But I think Marissa will. She’ll give in. And she’ll like it. And I’d say she’s woman enough that she won’t make any excuses for wanting it.
“They’re just parts, like any other woman’s,” she replies breathily, trying to be casual.
“I’d be willing to bet your parts are exceptional. In fact, now might be a good time to warn you that if we come back to this library, I’ll find out for myself. In this very spot. I’ll push you up against the books in the corner and I’ll put my hands on you. I’ll do things to you. In the quiet. And you won’t be able to make a sound. Not a whimper, not a moan. You’ll have to bite your lip to keep it all inside. And you know what?” I ask, reaching up to trace my index finger along her full, trembling lower lip.
“What?” she whispers, her pupils two dilated dots of excitement.
“You’ll love every second of it.”
With a wicked grin, I take the books from her arms and turn to walk back the way I came.
SIX
Marissa
As I watch Cash pull away from the curb with Nash in the passenger seat, I can’t help but feel a bit breathless when his eyes meet mine through the glass of the window. He doesn’t smile. Or wink. Or flirt. He just watches me, intently. I feel like I’m snapping out of a hot, sticky spell when Olivia speaks from behind me.
“So, how’d the research go?”
I turn to look at her. She kicked off her shoes and poured us each a Coke as soon as she came through the door from school. Now she’s curled up on the couch, watching me with the hint of a smile lurking around her lips.
“Very well, actually,” I respond, walking over to sit on the opposite end of the couch.
And it did. Despite the rising sexual tension between us, Nash was helpful. He’s so sharp and catches on so quickly, it makes me wonder if he didn’t do some light law-book reading while he was . . . wherever he was.
“What’d you find out?”
“Even though we had to give up the original accounting ledgers, there might still be a RICO case against them. This might be a way around them, so we don’t have to worry about Duffy helping us get the ledgers back. If we could get Duffy to testify, we might really have a shot. Of course, I’d want someone who knows a lot more about this type of case than me to go over everything before we show our hand.”
“Do you know someone you can trust with something this big?”
I smile when I think how handy it was that I ran into Jensen at the library. He might be just the person I could go to for help. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Oooh, that smile looks juicy. Can I get some details?”
I wave my hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that I ran into a guy I know at the library. He works for the DA. He sort of asked me out. Pretty amazing coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Sure is.” Olivia nods but says nothing else for a few seconds. She clears her throat. “So, did, uh, Nash meet this guy?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And what? I tried to introduce him, but I started to bungle it, so he took care of it. Introduced himself as Cash. He had to since he couldn’t be sure at the time that Jensen didn’t know Cash as Nash. Good call on his part.”
“And he’s okay with all this?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just now thought of it. But why wouldn’t he be?”
It’s Olivia’s turn to shrug. “I just get the impression that he might find you . . . interesting. I didn’t know how he’d view competition.”
A little thrill races down my spine that Olivia picked up on it. I know it’s there, but for some reason I like that he’s not able to completely hide it from everyone else. Because I know he tries. It makes me feel like his control might not be bulletproof. I guess it’s every girl’s dream to be a man’s one true weakness. But that’s just an egotistical dream because, in reality, I doubt any woman will ever be a weakness for a guy like Nash. The destruction of someone like him usually comes from within.
“I don’t think Nash sees anyone as competition.”
Olivia laughs. “That’s probably true. He’s pretty confident, even though he’s got that . . . rough edge.”
“Yes, he certainly is. And yes, he’s definitely . . . rough.”
And I’m just crazy enough to be completely and utterly drawn to it.
“Cash has had some big blows over the years, but I can definitely see why Nash would be bitter, why he had to develop those rough edges. I mean the guy was practically exiled. As a teenager. And after witnessing the murder of his mother, no less.”
“And that seems so strange to me.”
“What does?”
“That their father would send Nash away like that, but let Cash pretend to be him. What possible purpose could that serve? It sounds just plain mean.”
“Well, at the time that he sent Nash away, Cash playing both boys wasn’t part of the plan. He sent Nash away to protect him. And the evidence. Not only was he an eyewitness, but he had a very valuable piece of the puzzle on his phone. I guess their dad was doing his best to play it safe until he could figure out what to do. But then he went to prison. And Cash ended up playing both brothers so that his father wouldn’t go down for the murder of his mother and his brother. And by the time Cash started the deception, he couldn’t really talk to his father about it in prison. All those conversations are monitored.”
“Do you think Cash was ever in any real danger?”
Olivia shrugs. “I don’t know, but it sounds like these . . . people never knew Nash witnessed the crime or had the video, so I’d say not. But I guess he could’ve been, had they ever found out somehow. I can see how things got so crazy. There was so much going on, and so many questions. I guess their father just did the best he could for his family, and they all had to live with the consequences. It’s hard to tell what any of us would do in a situation like that. Cash finds out his mother and brother were killed and the murder was being blamed on his father, who is then carted off to prison. For Nash, he was nearly blown to bits and was the only real witness to the murder of his mother. He got banished from everything and everyone he’s ever known. And for their father, he lost his wife, got framed for her murder, and had to send one of his sons away in an effort to keep him safe. Or so he thought at the time. It’s like a comedy of errors. Only there’s nothing funny about it.”
I sigh. There are so many complex sides to Nash. The more I learn about him and his past, the more questions I have. “It sounds like Nash has a legitimate reason to be upset, then. His father surely could’ve let him come home before now, once he realized there was no danger.”
“I think he was keeping as many aces up his sleeve as he could until all this played out.”
My head is beginning to hurt as I chase these thoughts round and round. “Well, maybe being back, being able to live his life and be with his family, will help smooth out those rough edges a little.”
“Maybe,” Olivia says, but I think she believes that’s possible just about as much as I do. Which is not possible at all. I think Nash is the way he is, and not much will change it at this point.
SEVEN
Nash
I let the silence in the car stretch on until I feel like Cash might be getting uncomfortable. That’s when I make my move. I want him off balance, unprepared. I want his knee-jerk reaction. I want honesty. I won’t settle for anything else, even if I have to beat it out of him.
“Who were you talking to on the phone this morning?”
At least he has the good sense not to bother trying to deny it. Or cover it up.
“Duffy.”
“Were you going to tell me about it? Or just keep that little detail to yourself?”
I feel my temper rising just talking about it, reliving the conversation I overheard and how angry it made me.
“Did you do this?” Cash had asked, obviously referring to someone wrecking me on his bike. But that wasn’t what made me so mad; it was that he immediately started making plans, taking matters into his own hands. Without even mentioning it to me.
“What the hell are we gonna do now? I have to make adjustments to protect the people I love.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I wanted to know if he had something to do with the hit on you. He said he didn’t.”